﻿( 100 .) 



PRU'NUS* * 



Linnenn Class and Order. Icosa'ndria f, Monogy'nia. 



Natural Order. Amygda'le.e, Lind. Introd. to Nat. Syst. of 

 Bot. p. 84. — Drupa'cea:, Decand. FI. Fran 9 aise, v. iv. p. 479. — 

 Rosa'ceas; Sect. Amygda'lea^, Juss. Gen. PI. pp. 334 & 340. — 

 Sin. Gram, of Bot. pp. 171 & 173. — Loud. Hort. Brit. p. 512. — 

 Rosa'cea;, Sect. Drupa'cea:, Lind. Syn. pp. 88 & 89. — Rich, by 

 Macgilliv. pp. 528 & 529. 



Ge\. Char. Calyx (see fig. 1.) inferior, of 1 sepal, bell-shaped, 

 with 5 blunt, concave, marginal segments, deciduous. Corolla of 5, 

 roundish, concave, large, spreading petals, attached to the ritn of 

 the calyx by short claws. Filaments (see fig. 1.) from 20 to 30, 

 awl-shaped, nearly as long as the corolla, from the rim of the calyx 

 within the petals. Anthers short, of 2 round lobes. Germen (see 

 fig. 2.) superior, roundish. Style thread-shaped, terminal, the 

 length of the stamens. Stigma round. Drupe (fig. 4.) roundish 

 or elliptical. Nut (fig. 3.) very hard, somewhat compressed, ot 

 1 cell, and 2 more or less distinct valves, prominent at the margin, 

 with an intermediate furrow; kernel solitary, suspended from the 

 top. 



Distinguished from other genera in the same class and order, by 

 the inferior, 5-cleft calyx ; the corolla of 5 petals ; and the nut of 

 the drupe with slightly prominent seams. 



Five species British. 



PRU'NUS CE'RASUS. Wild Cherry-tree. 



Spec. Char. Flowers in nearly sessile umbels ; leaves egg-spear- 

 shaped, somewhat downy beneath ; conduplicate in the bud. 



Ens. Cot. t. 706. — Linn. Sp. PI. p. 679. — Huds. FI. A ngl. (2nd ed.) p. 213. — 

 Sm. FI. Brit. v. ii. p.526. Eng. FI. v.ii. p.354. — VViih. (7th ed.) v.iii. p. 593. — 

 Hook. Brit. FI. p. 220. — Hunter’s Evelyn’s Silva, p. 188, with a plate. — Sibtli. 

 FI. Oxon. p. 155. — Abbot’s FI. Bedf. p. 107. — Purt. Midi. FI. v. i. p. 233. — 

 Relh. FI. Cantab. (3rd ed.) p. 195. — Hook. FI. Scot. p. 150. — Grev. FI. Edin. 

 p. 108. — FI. Devon, pp. 81 & 173. — Johnston’s FI. of Berw. v. i. p. 109. — Walk. 

 FI. of Oxf. p. 134. — Mack. Catal. of PI. of Irel. p. 47. — Primus avium. Linn. 

 Sp. PI. 6801 — Lightf. FI. Scot. v. i. p.254. — Sibtli. FI. Oxon. p. 154. — Abbot's 

 FI. Bedf. p. 107. — Cerasus avium, Lindl. Syn p.90. — Don’s Gen. Syst. of 

 Gard. and Bot. v. ii. p. 505. — Bab. FI. Bath. p. 14. — Cerasus hortensis, Gray’s 

 Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 590. — Cerasus sylvestris fructu rubro, and C. sylvestris 

 fructu niyro, Ray’s Syn. p. 463.— Cerasus vulyaris, and C. nigra, Johnson’s 

 Gerarde, pp. 1502 & 1505. 



Localities. — I n woods and hedges. Not uncommon in most parts of Eng- 

 land. It is not very plentiful about Oxford ; I have observed it in Marston- 

 lane ; in Shotover Plantations; and in Bagley-Wood. — About R-ugby, in 

 Warwickshire, it is rather abundant, especially on Jarrett’s Heath between that 

 town and the village of Dunchurch ; April, 1834. 



Fig. 1. Calyx and Stamens.— Fig. 2. Germen, Style, and Stigma. — Fig. 3. The 

 Stone. — Fig. 4. The Fruit or Drupe. 



* Said to be a word of Asiatic origin ; in Greek, prouue, supposed to signify 

 the Wild Plum. Dr Withering. 



t 1 he 12th class in the Linnean System, containing those plants which have 

 perfect flowers with 29 or more stamens in each, inserted into the calyx ; which 

 is monosepalous and concave, and the claws of the petals are fixed into its inner 

 side. The situation of the stamens easily distinguishes this class from that of 

 Polyandria, in which they are placed on the receptacle (see fol. 51.) 



