118 



WEEDS AND USEFUL PLANTS. 



oval or obovate-oblong, acuminate, coarsely serrate, pilose and some- 

 what glaucous beneath ; umbels sessile ; flowers scarcely preceding the 

 leaves ; pedicels rather long ; drupe roundish ovoid or subcordate at 

 base. 



Birds' Prunus. English Cherry. Bleeding-heart, &c. 

 Fr. Le Cerisier. Germ. Der Kirschbaum. Span. Cerezo. 



stem 30-60 feet or more in height, and often 2-3 feet in diameter at base, branching 

 regularly, and somewhat verticillately, so as to form an oblong conical top. Leaves '6 -b 

 or 6 inches long ; petioles an inch to an inch and a half long. Pedicels slender, an inch to an 

 inch and a half long, usually 3 (often 2) in a fascicle. Petals white. Drupes of various size 

 and color, tender and often very succulent, sweet or bitterish-sweet. 



Cultivated. Fl. April Fr. June - July. 



Ohs. Cherries are said to have been originally brought to Rome from 

 Cerasus, a city of Pontus, by the Roman Consul and General, Lucullus, 

 some 60 or 70 years before the Christian era ; and from Rome they have 

 been distributed over the rest of the civilized world. Our cultivated 

 Cherry trees seem obviously to consist of at least two original species, — 

 \vz. the sweet " Eaglish Cherry," so called, — and the common Sour 

 Cherry. The numerous varieties — produced by culture (and possibly 

 some hybrids) — may be all referred to one or the other of those two. 

 There are, undoubtedly, several very distinct sorts of fruit ; but I incline 

 to think the general habit and aspect of the trees commonly seen in this 

 counti;y, warrant the reduction of them all to 'the two above referred 

 to ; and I shall so consider them in this work. 



6. P. Ce'easus, L. Branches spreading, slender and flexible ; leaves 

 obovate and ovate-lanceolate, mostly narrowed at base, acuminate or 

 acute, serrate, smoothish ; umbels subsessile ; flowers rather preceding 

 the leaves ; pedicels rather short ; drupe globose. 

 Red or Sour Cherry, Morello Cherry, &c. 



Stem 10-20 feet high, irregularly branched ; branches rather slender and flaccid, spread- 

 ing nearly horizontally, and forming a roundish bushy top. Leaves 1)^-3 inches long; 

 pelioles half an inch to an inch long. Pedicels half an inch to an inch in length, 2, or more 

 frequently 3, in a fascicle. J'etoZs white. Drupes fleshy, more or less acid, red or dark 

 purple when mature. 



Cultivated. Fl. April. Fr. July. 



Ohs. The " Sour Cherry " is the most common and, for culinary pur- 

 poses, the most valuable of the genus. The Moreilo Cherry is a re- 

 markably fine variety, with a rich purple juice, — and in the days of 

 " Cherry Bounce," was a great favorite : but, for the last 30 years it 

 has almost entirely disappeared from Pennsylvania, in consequence of the 

 ravages of an insect, causing large warty excrescences on the branches 

 of the tree. The fruit first failed, — and since, the tree itself has become 

 very scarce. P. Pennsylvanica, the wild Red Cherry, is a native 

 Vi'se belonging to this section, its fruit small, sour and worthless. 



§ 3. Padus, (Cherry.) Fruit as in 'preceding section ; flowers in racemes 

 terminating the branches, developed after the flowers. 



