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XXXI. ROSACEiE 
solitary, at the base of the calyx-tube ; style terminal ; ovules 2. 
Drupe fleshy, juicy, enclosing a hard, 1 -seeded stone. 
The following fruit trees of this genus are cultivated in or near Simla. 
The almond, P. Amygdalus, flowers pink, appearing before the leaves, drupe 
velvety, stone slightly flattened, covered with shallow wrinkles and minute 
holes ; native name baddm. The peach, P. persica, flowers pink, appearing 
before or with the leaves, drupe downy, stone deeply and irregularly furrowed ; 
native name aril. The nectarine, a variety of P. persica, drupe glabrous. The 
apricot, P. armeniaca, flowers white, appearing before or with the leaves, drupe 
downy or glabrous, stone smooth, margins thickened and grooved ; native 
name Zarddlu ; the most common fruit tree about the hill villages. The 
plum, P. communis, and its varieties, such as the damson, bullace, &c., flowers 
white, appearing with the leaves, drupe glabrous, often covered with bloom, 
stone smooth. The sweet cherry, P. Avium, flowers white, clustered, appearing 
in April or May, leaf-stalks 2-glandular, drupe smooth, stone smooth. The 
wild cherry, P. cerasus, leaf-stalks without glands, drupe smooth, acid. 
Flowers 1 in. diam., pale pink, solitary or in small, sessile 
clusters . . . . . . . . . 1. P. Puddum. 
Flowers ^ in. diam., white, in racemes . . . . 2. P. Padus. 
1. Prunus Puddum, Roxb. ; FI. Br. Ind. ii. 314. Leaves ovate, 
2|-5 in., long-pointed, teeth glandular ; stalks glandular ; stipules 
long, 3-5-parted, glandular-f ringed. Flowers 1 in. diam., pink, 
solitary or in small clusters, crowded towards the end of branches. 
Calyx-tube J in. long, lobes acute. Pedals oblong, obtuse. Style 
long ; stigmatic lobes usually 3, spreading. Drupe ovoid, red and 
yellow, acid ; stone wrinkled and furrowed. 
Valleys below Simla ; October, November. — Himalaya, Simla to Bhootan, 
3000-6000 ft. — Native name Pajja ; often cultivated. 
2. Prunus Padus, Linn. ; FI. Br. Ind. ii. 315. Leaves ovate 
or ovate-lanceolate, 4-6 in., minutely toothed, long-pointed ; 
stipules linear, soon falling off. Flowers J in. diam., white, in 
drooping racemes 3-8 in. long. Stigma peltate, lobed. Drupe 
globose, red, turning to dark purple or black, acid. 
Simla, common ; April-June. — Himalaya, Murree to Sikkim, 6000-10,000 ft. 
— N. Africa, Siberia, &c. (Britain, Bird Cherry). 
The young fruit is sometimes attacked by insects, causing it to swell out into 
a curved, horn-like excrescence. 
2. PRINSEPIA. In honour of James Prinsep, formerly 
Secretary of the Asiatic Society, Bengal. — Himalaya, N. China. 
Prinsepia utilis, Royle ; FI. Br. Ind. ii. 323. A glabrous, spiny 
shrub ; spines often leaf -bearing. Leaves lanceolate, 1-3 in., 
minutely toothed, long-pointed. Flowers white, J in. diam., in 
short, axillary racemes. Calyx without bracteoles, free, persis- 
tent ; tube cup-shaped, shallow ; limb 5-lobed, segments unequal, 
orbicular, imbricate. Petals 5, orbicular. Stamens numerous, 
filaments short. Carpel solitary, superior, inserted at the base of 
the calyx- tube ; style terminal, short, thick ; stigma large, 
