484 FLOWERS OF FIELD, HILL, AND SWAMP 



orange or reddish plums, edible, but with tough and acid skin. 

 Bark thorny. Leaves, ovate, pointed, toothed, smooth, and 

 veiny. 



Along river-banks. 



34. Chickasaw Plum 



P. Chkdsa is 8 to 10 feet high, with a small, reddish 

 fruit, and leaves long, narrow, finely toothed. 

 A Southern species. 



35. Choke-cherry 



P. Virginid,na has flowers and fruit in close racemes ter- 

 minating the branches. Flowers in May, and fruit in July and 

 August. When ripe the cherries are dark red, harsh, acid, 

 and astringent to the taste. Leaves, alternate, large, pointed, 

 finely serrate, thin, oval to oblong. 



A shrub 2 to 15 feet high, found on the banks of rivers, from 

 New England to Georgia. Bark dark colored. 



36. Black Wild Cherry 



P. serotina is a tall shrub or small tree, a symmetrical plant, 

 with smooth, thick, shining leaves, serrate, with the teeth curv- 

 ing inward, bearing in late summer long strings of small black 

 berries, bitter but pleasant in flavor. Used as a remedy for 

 pulmonary complaints. 



In dry soil, from Massachusetts to Florida. 



37. Dwarf or Sand Cherry 



P. pumila is a trailing shrub, from i to 6 feet high. A few 

 flowers grow together, followed by dark-red, edible cherries. 

 In sandy or rocky soil, from Maine to Virginia and westward, 



38. Meadow-sweet. Queen-of-the-meadows 

 Spiraha salicifblia. — Family, Rose. Color, white, with a 



