30 



AMERICAN MEDICINAL BARKS. 



Fig. 24. — Wild cherry (Prunus serotina), 

 trunk. 



Prices and uses. — At present American mountain-ash bark brings from about 



3 to 5 cents a pound. It is used for 

 its tonic, astringent, and antiseptic 

 properties. 



WILD CHERRY. 



Prunus serotina Ebrh. 



Pharmacopwial name. — Prunus vir- 

 giniana. 



Synonym. — Prunus virginiana Mill., 

 not of Linnaeus. 



Other common names. — Wild black 

 cherry, cabinet-cherry, black choke, 

 rum-cherry, whisky-cherry, Virginian 

 prune-bark. 



Habitat and range. — The wild cherry 

 occurs in woods or open places, and is 

 most abundant in the Southeastern 

 States, but its range extends from 

 Nova Scotia to Florida, westward to 

 Texas, and north through Indian Ter- 

 ritory, the eastern portions of Kansas, 

 Nebraska, and South Dakota. 



Description of tree. — The elongated, 

 drooping, pretty clusters of white 

 flowers of the wild cherry are usually produced in May. The tree sometimes 

 reaches a height of 90 feet, and a maximum trunk diameter of 4 feet. The 

 trunk is straight and covered with a 

 rough black bark (fig. 24), the young 

 branches, however, smooth and red- 

 dish. The reddish brown wood of the 

 wild cherry is fine grained, hard and 

 strong, susceptible of polish, and is 

 used in cabinetmaking. 



The leaves are thick and oval, about 

 2 to 5 inches long, smooth and shin- 

 ing, bright green above and somewhat 

 hairy on the veins beneath, the mar- 

 gins furnished with callous teeth. 

 The clusters of flowers borne at the 

 ends of leafy branches are generally 

 somewhat drooping, and consist of 

 many small, white, 5-petaled flowers 

 with numerous yellow stamens, the 

 clusters of white against the green 

 background making it a rather at- 

 tractive tree. The cherries ripen 

 about August or September, and are 

 globular, black, or very dark purple, 

 about the size of a pea, and have a 

 sweet, somewhat astringent, and bitter taste. (Fig. 25.) The wild cherry, 

 which is a native of this country, belongs to the plum family (Amygdalaceae). 

 139 



Pig. 



— Wild cherry {Prunus serotina), 

 leaves, flowers, and fruits. 



