50 THE PLUMS OF NEW YORK. 



Fruit varying greatly in seasoii,|from very early to late; large, from one to two inches 

 in diameter, globular, heart-shaped or often somewhat conical; cavity deep; apex 

 conspicuously pointed; suture usually prominent; color varies greatly but usually a 

 bright red or yellow, never blue or purple, lustrous, with little or no bloom; dots small, 

 numerous, usually conspicuous; skin thin, tough, astringent; stem one-half inch in 

 length; flesh red or more often yellow, firm, fibrous, juicy; quaUty variable, of distinct 

 flavor,* usually good; stone clinging tenaciously or nearly free, small, rough or lightly 

 pitted, oval to ovate, one edge grooved, the other ridged. 



A study of the botanical characters of the many Trifiora plums under 

 cultivation fails to show any lines of cleavage whereby the species can be 

 divided. Of plums commonly grown in America it is not very closely 

 related to any unless it be Prunus simonii. There are several plttms from 

 eastern and central Asia with which we are not at all familiar in America 

 that may show relationship with Prunus trifiora, chief of which are Prunus 

 ^c•/^awgaMa Schneider,' Prunus thibetica Franchet ^ and PrwwM^ hokhariensis 

 Royle,' the last a cxoltivated plum from northern India. These, in herbarium 

 specimens, have some characters reminding one of Prunus trifiora, others of 

 Prunus domestica and still others, of Prunus cerasifera. 



The Trifiora, or Japanese,* pltims are now cultivated in all parts of 

 the world where plums are grown; yet outside of Japan and China they 

 have been grown for their fruit less than half a century. Despite the 

 fact that these plums have been grown in Asia for several centuries the 

 wild form is not known. Indeed, there are doubts in the minds of some 

 as to whether it constitutes a distinct species, Maximowicz, an authority 

 on the flora of Japan, among others, holding that it is but a form of Prunus 

 domestica. Roxburgh in naming it gave but little definite information 

 in regard to the species, but the herbaritim specimens of his in the Kew 

 Herbarium are readily identified as identical with our Japanese plums." 

 The confusion between Prunus trifiora and Prunus domestica seems need- 

 less, as the points of difference between these two species are several and 

 very distinct and constant, the resemblances between Prunus trifiora and 



^Fedde Repert. i:$o. 1905. 



^Pl. David 2:33. 1888. 



'lU. Bot. His. Mountains and Fl. of Cash. 1:239. 1839. 



* Several apricots and the loquat of southern Japan are also called Japanese plums. The 

 name Trifiora for common usage avoids this confusion and conforms with the growing usage in 

 horticulture of using the specific name alone. 



^ Bailey says, (Cornell Sta. Bui. 62:6. 1894) speaking of these specimens: " I have no hesita- 

 tion in saying that our Japanese plums are the same." The writer examined the specimens in 

 the summer of 1909 and recognized them at once to be the same as the cultivated Trifiora plums 



