BULLETIN OF THE 
‘s , YUSDEPARTMENT OFAGRICUETURE 
No. 179 
Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Wm. A. Taylor, Chief. 
April 2, 1915. 
(PROFESSIONAL PAPER.) 
NATIVE AMERICAN SPECIES OF PRUNUS.' 
By W. F. Wien, 
Botanist, Horticultural and Pomological Investigations. 
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INTRODUCTION. 
The present study embraces only those species of the genus Prunus 
_ which have an umbellate or corymbose inflorescence and which pro- 
_ duce plumlike or cherrylike fruit, these being the ones principally 
of interest, either from the standpoint of their fruit production or 
- their utilization as stocks in the propagation of other species. Indeed, 
the American species belonging to the subgenera Padus, Laurocerasus, 
and Emplectocladus seem sufficiently distinct to warrant the recog- 
nition of these groups as genera. If connecting species exist, they 
are to be found among the Asiatic representatives of the genus, and 
no satisfactory conclusions can be reached regarding generic limita- 
tions without a careful study of the species in the Old World. 
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DISTRIBUTION. 
The genus Prunus is widely distributed in America, being repre- 
sented in some portion of every State by one or more species. One 
epecies is found in northeastern Mexico, and one or more occur in 
_ nearly all of the southern provinces of Canada. Eight species are 
- found within the limits of Texas, and it is probable that the greatest 
abundance of individuals is in the region comprising Missouri, 
eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, western Arkansas, northwestern Loui- 
siana, and eastern and northern Texas. The species naturally grow 
“Mainly in open situations, some of them scarcely at all with other 
woody plants, and rarely under forest conditions. In some sections 
of the country the clearing of the forests and the use of such areas 
1 This manuscript was prepared in 1911 while the writer was associated with the Office of Taxonomic 
_ and Range Investigations. 
_ Note.—This bulletin is intended for horticulturists in all parts of the United States, especially those 
j who are studying varieties or doing work in plant breeding. 
74246°—Bull. 179—15——1 1 
