1300 THE ROSE FAMILY. [Prunus. 
varieties of P. communis, produced by long cultivation; they will occasion- 
ally sow themselves, and may be found apparently wild in the neighbour- 
hood of gardens and orchards, retaining their arborescent character. 
Some botanists distinguish these varieties as a species, under the name of 
P, domestica, Linn. 
2. P. Cerasus, Linn. (fig. 298). Cherry Prunus, Wild Cherry.—The 
Cherry, when wild, is often a mere shrub of 6 or 8 feet, throwing out 
suckers from its creeping roots, or more properly rhizomes; but in cultiva- 
tion, and often, also, in a really wild state, it will form a tree of considerable 
size. Stipules narrow, often toothed and glandular, but very deciduous. 
Leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate, toothed, 2 to 4 inches long, usually with 
1 or 2 glands at the top of the stalk or on the edge of the blade, near the 
base; but they are sometimes wanting on the same specimen. Flowers 
white, on pedicels from 1 to 2 inches long, in bunches of 2, 3, or more, 
issuing together from leafiess buds, surrounded by brown scales, of which 
the inner ones often become green and leaf-like at the tips. Fruit globular 
and smooth, red or black, usually without bloom. 
In woods, thickets, and hedgerows, in central and southern Europe and 
temperate Asia, extending northward into Scandinavia, but has been in so 
many places introduced by cultivation, that its precise limits can scarcely 
be fixed. Generally dispersed over England, Ireland, and southern Scot- 
land, but in many cases not truly indigenous. Fl. spring. There are 
several more or less permanent varieties in cultivation, which are variously 
distributed by different botanists into several species, of which the P. Avium, 
for the tree variety, without suckers, and P. Cerasus, for the shrubby form, 
are generally adopted: but none of the characters given appear to be 
constant in a wild state. [Linnzeus distinguished two well marked forms 
or species of this :— | 
a. P. Cerasus, Linn. Leaves spreading, crenate-serrate, glabrous, 
petiole short, corolla cup-shaped, petals firm suberect, fruit acid.— Wild 
Cherry. 
b. PB. Avium, Linn, Leaves drooping, sharply serrate, pubescent be- 
neath, petiole long, corolla open, petals flaccid almost obcordate, fruit 
sweet or bitter.— The Gean. | ! 
3. BP. Padus, Linn. (fig. 299). Birdcherry Prunus.—A shrub of 6 or 
8 feet, or sometimes a small tree, always glabrous. Leaves oval or ovate- 
lanceolate, finely toothed, and slightly cordate at the base. Flowers white, 
rather small, in loose, often drooping racemes of 2 or 3 to nearly 6 inches, 
on short, leafy, or rarely leafless branches, on the last year’s wood. Fruit 
small, nearly globular, black and bitter, with a rugged stone. — 
In woods, thickets, and hedges, in northern and central Europe and Asia, 
from the Arctic regions to the Caucasus and Himalaya, but disappearing in 
south-western Kurope. Scattered over various parts of Britain, but absent 
in southern England, and a great part of Ireland. 1. spring. 
II. SPIRJEA. SPIRAA., 
Herbs, with pinnate leaves, or, in exotic or introduced species, shrubs, 
showing much diversity in foliage. Flowers usually small and numerous, 
in elegant terminal cymes or panicles. Calyx free, 5-lobed. Petals 5. 
Stamens numerous. Carpels 3 or more, usually 5, quite free from the 
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