THE PLUMS OF NEW YORK. 89 



zigzag, little or not at all thorny; branchlets slender, zigzag, reddish, lustrous, glabrous; 

 lenticels numerous, large, raised. 



Winter-buds small, short, obtuse, usually free; leaves one and one-quarter inches 

 wide by four inches long, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, sometimes broadly so, some- 

 what folded, apex acute or tapering, usually rounded at the base, texture thin, 

 margins closely and finely serrate, teeth with small, dark red glands; upper surface 

 bright green, glabrous, lustrous; lower surface dull green, pubescence sparse along 

 the midrib and veins or sometimes tufted in the axils; petioles slender, about three- 

 quarters of an inch long, pubescent on the upper surface, reddish, usually with two 

 glands at the base of the leaf -blade; stipules linear, glandular, serrate. 



Flowers appearing before or with the leaves, season of blooming late, about three- 

 quarters inch across, odor sometimes disagreeable; borne on lateral spurs and 

 buds, two or four flowers in a cluster; pedicels one half inch long, slender, glabrous; 

 calyx-tube campanulate, glabrous, obscurely nerved, about one-fourth length of the 

 pedicel; calyx-lobes as long as tube, ovate-oblong, obtuse at the apex, usually glabrous 

 outside, pubescent inside at least toward the base, glandular-ciliate, erect; petals one- 

 third inch long, white, creamy in the bud, oval or obovate, margins slightly erose, abruptly 

 tapering into a claw, sometimes pubescent; stamens about twenty in number, equal 

 to or shorter than the petals; filaments glabrous; anthers yellow or sometimes 

 tinged red; pistils glabrous, shorter than the stamens. 



Fruit ripening early; globose or oval, shortest diameter about an inch, bright currant- 

 red, rarely yellow; bloom thin; dots few or numerous, whitish, large or small, always 

 conspicuous; cavity shallow, narrow; suture a line; apex rounded or slightly depressed ; 

 flesh light to dark yellow, juicy, soft or melting, fibrous, sweetish, sour at the pit, 

 aromatic; good; stone clinging to the flesh, varying from about one-half inch in length 

 in the wild fruits to at least three-quarters inch in cultivated varieties, turgid, oval, 

 prolonged and pointed at the apex, usually obliquely truncate at the base, more or 

 less roughened, grooved on the dorsal edge, thick-margined and markedly grooved on 

 the ventral one. 



The description of this species is based on both wild and cultivated 

 material, and the variety Arkansas may be considered as a typical 



mentioned. While his name is not commonly connected with the study of plums, it is not too much 

 to say that without his aid the publications of those who have written during the last quarter cen- 

 tury on native plums would have lacked much of the information they contain in regard to the 

 species of the Southwest. He has an intimate knowledge of the wild plums of Texas and has freely 

 given of it to all who have asked, often supplementing information with herbarium specimens or 

 plants. The authors of The Plums of New York wish to give him credit for much of the informa- 

 tion, furnished directly or indirectly, in regard to the wild and cultivated plums of the region in 

 which he lives, in recognition of which his name is given to one of the most important species of 

 native plums. Mr. Munson has grown and introduced a. number of hybrid plums of note, chief of 

 those of his own growing being Nimon, Minco and Burford. Many of his experiments in hybrid- 

 izing plums, though unproductive of new varieties, are of much value as a guide to other workers 

 with this fruit. 



