148 ROSACEA. (ROSE FAMILY.) 



convolute in the bud, the fruit with a bloom; its stone oblong, flattened or flatti 

 and acute at both ends : but our wild Plums are like Cherries in having tl 

 leaves folded before expansion, little or no bloom, and some of them in the thicJce 

 or globular stone, thus confounding the distinctions. 



1. P. Americana, Marshall. (Wild Yellow or Red Plum.) Leaves 

 ovate or somewhat obovate, conspicuously pointed, coarsely or doubly serrate, very 

 veiny, glabrous when mature ; fruit nearly destitute of bloom, roundish-oval, yel- 

 low, orange, or red, |'-|' in diameter, with the turgid stone more or less acute 

 on both margins, or in cultivated states 1' or more in diameter, the flattened 

 stone with broader margins : pleasant-tasted, but with a tough and acerb skin. 

 — Woodlands and river-banks : common. — Tree thorny, 8° -20° high. 



2. P. maritima, Wang. (Beach Plum.) Low and straggling (2°- 

 5°); leaves ovate or ovul, finely serrate, softly pubescent underneath; pedicels short, 

 pubescent ; fruit globular, purple or crimson with a bloom (^'- 1' in diameter) ; 

 the stone very turgid, acute on one edge, rounded and minutely grooved on the 

 other. (P. littoralis, Bigelow.) — Varies, when at some distance from the coast, 

 with the leaves smoother and thinner, and the fruit smaller. (P. pygmasa, 

 Willd.) — Sea-beach and the vicinity, Maine to Virginia; the variety, New 

 Jersey and southward. 



3. P. Chicasa, Michx. (Chickasaw Plum.) Stem scarcely thorny 

 (8° -15° high) ; Laves nearly lanceolate, finely serrulate, glabrous ; fruit globular, 

 red, nearly destitute of bloom (j'-f in diameter) ; the ovoid stone almost as 

 thick as wide, rounded at both sutures, one of them minutely grooved. — Mary- 

 land to Illinois (probably not indigenous) and southwestward. 



4. P. spin6sa, L. (Sloe. Black Thorn.) Branches thorny; leaves 

 obovate-oblong or ovate-ldnceolate, sharply serrate, at length glabrous ; pedicels gla- 

 brous ; fruit small, globular, black with a bloom, the stone turgid, acute on one 

 edge. — Var. insititia (Bullace-Plum), is less spiny, the pedicels and lower 

 side of the leaves pubescent. (P. insititia, L.) — Roadsides and waste places, 

 New England, to Penn., &c. (Adv. from Eu.) 



5. P. ptimila, L. (Dwarf Cherry.) Smooth, depressed, and trailing 

 (6 7 -^ 6° high) ; leaves obovate-lanceolate, tapering to the base, somewhat toothed near 

 the apex, pale underneath ; flowers 2-4 together ; fruit ovoid, dark red, without 

 bloom; stone ovoid, marginless, of the size of a large pea. — Rocks or sandy 

 banks, Massachusetts northward to Wisconsin, ana south to Virginia along the 

 mountains. 



6. P. Pennsylvaniea, L. (Wild Bed Cherry.) Leaves oblong-lanceo- 

 late, pointed, finely and sharply serrate, shining, green and smooth both sides ; flowers 

 many in a cluster, on long pedicels ; fruit globose, light red, very small, with 

 thin and sour flesh ; stone globular. — Rocky woods : common, especially 

 northward. May. — Tree 20° - 30° high, with light red-brown bark. 



§2. PADlTS, Mill. (Chf.rRy.) Drupe small, globose, without bloom; the stone 

 turgid-ovate, marginless : flowers in racemes terminating leafy branches, therefore 

 appearing after the leaves, late in spring. 



7. P. Virginiana, L. (Choke-Cherry.) Leaves oval, oblong, or obovate, 

 abruptly pointed, very sharply {often doubly) serrate with slender teeth, thin ; racemes 



