50 BULLETIN 179, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
also grown, produced a very good crop of fruit in 1911. The fruit 
of P. orthosepala is considered excellent in quality, and the Laire 
bears abundantly and is considered an excellent plum. It is pos- 
sible that all of these forms represent natural hybrids of P. americana 
and the sand plum, both of which occur in northern Kansas; this 
would account for the variation and possibly also for their rare 
occurrence. Whatever their origin and whether they represent a 
natural species or hybrids, they are unquestionably promising, at 
least for the Plains region of Kansas and Oklahoma. 
Prunus ALLEGHANIENSIS Porter. 
(Northern sloe. ) 
Prunus alleghaniensis Porter, 1877, in Bot. Gaz., v. 2, no. 5, p. 85. 
Leaves lanceolate to oval-lanceolate (Pl. V, fig. 2) or sometimes 
broadest above the middle and slightly oblanceolate, mostly 6 to 9 
cm. long, 2 to 3.cm. broad, acute or acuminate, the margin finely 
and sharply serrate, very rarely doubly serrate, with or without 
glands near the base of the blade, green and glabrous or sparingly 
pubescent above and pale green below, usually pubescent, at least 
when young, sometimes becoming glabrous with age, midvein 
prominent; petiole 7 to 12 mm. long, pubescent, at least on the upper 
side, rarely glandular at the apex; stipules linear with bright 
reddish glands along the margin. Flowers appearing before the 
leaves from the last of April to the middle of May, 10 to 12 mm. 
broad, in nearly sessile umbels of 2 to 4; pedicels mostly 9 to 10 mm. 
long, slender, sparingly hairy or glabrous; calyx narrowly obconic, 
pubescent or sometimes glabrous, at least in cultivated specimens, 
the tube about 3 mm. long and obscurely ribbed, the lobes narrowly 
oblong-oyate, about 2 mm. long, erect, sparingly hairy or glabrous 
within; petals about 5 mm. long, round-obovate and abruptly nar- 
rowed to a short claw, the margin entire or sparingly erose toward 
the apex, white, turning pinkish with age. [Fruit subglobose or 
somewhat oval or obovoid, about 10 mm. in its greatest diameter, 
very dark purple and covered with bluish bloom, flesh yellow, 
ripening in August; stone (Pl. XII, figs. 1 to 3) 11 to 12 mm. long, 
8 mm. broad, slightly obovoid and rather obtuse at the apex, turgid, 
the ventral odes rather thick and grooved and the dorsal edge ob- 
scurely grooved, the surface obscurely roughened. 
The species is a shrub 8 to 6 feet high, or more rarely a amail tree 12 
or more feet high, often forming thickets of considerable extent; 
branches rarely spinescent, bark of the larger branches comparatively 
smooth, very dark gray, that of the young twigs reddish brown and 
somewhat lustrous, pubescent or frequently glabrous, lenticels oval 
or round, slightly raised, yellowish brown; winter buds ovate, the 
scales apa hairy or glabrous. 
