Handbook of Trees of the Northern States and Canada. 279 



The Mahaleb, Perfumed or St. Lucie Cherry 

 properly deserves its name, " Perfumed " 

 Clierry, as it has fragrant foliage as well as 

 fragrant flowers, and its seeds, too, are 

 fragrant, and so is its wood. It is a 

 small tree sometimes attaining the height 

 of 20 to 25 ft., with rather irregular oblong 

 or rounded top of short lateral branches and 

 visually crooked or inclined trunk 8-10 in. in 

 diameter. This is vested in a dark gray or 

 brownish bark, rough with low irregular 

 ridges and appressed scales. It is a native 

 of middle and southern Europe and the Cau- 

 casus, whence it is extensively imported into 

 the United States as a valuable stock on whicli 

 to graft garden cherries and has become natu- 

 ralized in localities. Its small fruit is too 

 austere and bitter to be edible, but it yields 

 a violet dye and a fermented liquor is made 

 from it resembling Kirschwasser. The seeds 

 possess an agreeable flavor and odor, and a 

 fixed oil expressed from them is used in per- 

 fumery and among the Arabs is valued as a 

 remedy against calculus in the bladder. 



The wood is heavy, hard, close-grained, of a 

 dark reddish color and fragrant. It is known 

 in Europe as the wood of St. Lucie and is 

 valued by cabinet-makers and by the manufac- 

 turers of tobacco pipes and other small articles 

 of wooden-ware. The small rigid stems art 

 used for the stems of tobacco-pipes, walking- 

 sticks, etc. Though a very interesting tree it 

 is not commonly planted for ornamental pur- 

 poses in America and little use is made of it 

 here except as stocks for grafting purposes. 



Leaves broad-ovate to orbicular, mostly 1-2 in. 

 long, rounded or slightly cordate at base, ab- 

 ruptly acute at apex, finely crenate-serrate, firm, 

 glaucous and fragrant ; petioles slender, terete. 

 Flowers May-.Tune, small, scarcely V2 in. across, 

 white, fragrant and in umbels terminating short 

 lateral branchlets. Fruit ripening in July, sub- 

 globose, y^i in. in diameter, very dark red, with 

 thin bitter flesh and slightly flattened pit. 



