96 
WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND TREES. 
Of these the Gean is the species most widely distributed 
throughout our country, and we therefore give it precedence. 
The Gean {Prunus avium) is a tree that in suitable soils 
attains a height of thirty or forty feet, with short, stout branches, 
that take an upward direction. The leaves are large, broadly 
A, fruit ; B, flower. 
oval, with sharp-toothed edges, and downy on the underside, 
They always droop from the branches, and in spring they are 
of a bronzy-brown tint, which afterwards changes to pale green. 
Soon after the leaves have unfolded they are almost hidden 
by the umbels of wide-open white flowers, which have soft, 
heart-shaped petals, and whose anthers and stigmas mature 
simultaneously. The firm-fleshed drupe is heart-shaped, black 
