,  C-C  2  2895  \ 
THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
DECEMBER,  1895. 
SOME  FURTHER  OBSERVATIONS  ON  CHERRY  BARKS-  — 
BARK  OF  THE  WESTERN  FORM  OF  PRUNUS  VIRGINIANA,  LINNE. 
By  Kdson  S.  Bastin. 
In  Brewer  and  Watson's  Flora  of  California  this  is  treated  as  a 
distinct  species,  under  the  name  of  Primus  demissa,  Walters ;  but 
Prof.  C.  S.  Sargent  regards  it  as  only  a  form,  not  even  a  distinct 
variety,  of  the  Choke  cherry,  Primus  Virginiana.  It  is  somewhat 
less  diffuse,  and  more  tree-like  in  habit,  though  seldom  attaining  a 
height  of  more  than  12  feet.  Its  leaves  are  pubescent  underneath 
instead  of  smooth,  their  bases  frequently  somewhat  cordate  instead 
of  wedge-shaped,  their  texture  rather  more  leathery,  and  the  fruits 
are  usually  less  astringent  than  those  of  the  Eastern  form.  Differ- 
ences such  as  these,  however,  are  certainly  not  specific,  especially 
as  the  Eastern  form  is  known  to  vary  considerably  in  the  shape, 
texture  and  hairiness  of  its  leaves  and  in  the  color  and  astringency 
of  its  fruit.  If  Prof.  Sargent's  view  be  correct,  the  Choke  cherry  is, 
as  he  says,  the  most  widely  distributed  of  any  American  species  of 
tree,  for,  to  quote  his  language  :  "  It  grows  within  the  Arctic  Circle, 
ranging  across  the  continent  from  Labrador  and  the  shores  of  Hud- 
son's Bay  to  the  valley  of  the  Mackenzie  River,  in  latitude  620,  and 
crossing  the  Rocky  Mountains,  reaches  the  Pacific  Coast  in  Northern 
British  Columbia ;  it  extends  southward  through  Eastern  North 
America  to  southern  Georgia,  Louisiana,  Texas,  northern  Mexico 
and  along  the  mountain  ranges  of  Western  North  America. 
"In  the  Eastern  States  it  is  one  of  the  most  common  of  the  large 
tree-like  shrubs,  growing  usually  along  the  margins  of  the  forest* 
generally  in  rich,  rather  humid  soil,  and  along  highways  and  fence- 
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