(B e e . Prod.) A niitkllc-sizcd shrub. N o rth America, iu saiuly soils, on th e
sea coast, from New Jersey to Carolina. Heiglit G ft. to 8 ft. In troduced
in 1818. Flowers w h ite ; April and May. F ru it, o f th e size o f a pigeon’s
egg, dark purple, and, according to P u rsìi, very good to e at ; ripe ?.
There are plants in British gardens, but they have never yet set fruit.
-u 8 . P. n u n i '/ s c E N S 2’oir. The pubescent-/»«»«! Plum Tree.
Id e n lficn tio n . P o ir . S u p p l., l . p . .584., p o t o f P u rsh ; D e c . P ro d ., 2. p . ,533. ; D o n ’s Mill., 2. p. 499.
E n g ra v in g . O u r jig .2084 in p . IIOG.
Spec. Char., 4 e . Leaves with sh o rt pubescent petioles, and disks th a t are
sliglitlypube scent, ovate, thickish, rounded, o r shortly acuminate and unequally
to o th ed . Flowers mostly solitary and nearly sessile. F ru it oval.
(Dec. Prod.) A shrub. Native country unknown. Cultivated in 1818.
Heiglit 2 ft. to 3 ft. Flow e rs white ; May.
9. P . d i v a r i c a ' t a Led. Tlie divaricated-iran»/i»d P lum Tree.
Jdcntijlcalion. L ed e b . Ind. H o rt. D o rp . S uppl. 1824, p 6 .; F l. Alt.,
t. 13. ; De c . P ro d ., 2. p. 534. ; D o n ’s Mill., 2. p. 504.
Eiigravings. L ed . F lo r. Alt., 1 .13. ; and o u r jig . 440.
Spec. Char., Branches sjjineless. Leaves with
glandless ¡letioles, and disks oblong-elliptical, ta pered
to both ends, concave above, serra te, glabrous,
with th e midrib bearded beneath. Flowers
solitary, very numerous. Calyx reflexed. F ru it
elliptical, yellow. (Dec. Prod.) A middle-sized
shrub. Caucasus. Height 8 ft. to 10 ft. In tro duced
in 1820. Flowers white ; April.
44 6 . P r tin u s d iv a ric à ta .
Other Species o f Primus Juss. — In consequence o f many species o f the
genus P rim u s being removed to 6’érasus ; and also because o f th e close resemblance
o f one species to an o th e r in both genera, th e re is a good deal of
confusion, which c annot be cleared up till th e plants a re studied in a living
state. P rim u s effusa was raised in 1838, in th e H o rt. Soc. Garden, from seeds
presented by B aron Jacquin.
G e n u s V .
i i
CE B A S U S Juss. T h e C h e r r y . Lin. Syst. Icosândria Monogynia.
hlcnlificallim. Ju ss. Owi., 340. ; De c. F l. F r. 4. p .479.; P rod., 2. p. .53.5, ; D o n ’s Mill., 2 p 504
S ynonymes. L a u ro c é ra su s T o n rn . ; P riliiu s sp. L iu . ; C erisier, F r . ; Kirsche, Ger. ; Cilicoio Ita t
De rivation. F rom Cerasns. th e anc ient name o f a town o f P o n tu s in Asia, wlionce th e c u ltiv a ted
c lie rry was tirs t b ro u g lit to Home, by Lu cu liu s, a Roman G en era l, 08 u.c.
Gen. Char. Drupe globose, or umbilicate a t th e base, fleshy, quite glabrous,
d e stitu te o f bloom, containing a smooth, ra th e r globose compressed stone.
(Don's MiU.)
Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous, or evergreen ; when yoimg,
conduplicate. Flowers white. Pedicels 1-flowcrcd, rising before th e leaves, in’
fascicled umbels, from scaly bmis; b u t sometimes rising after the evolution o f
the leaves, in racemes, from th e to p so fth e b ra n e h e s .— Trees and shrubs, almost
all deciduous, with smooth serra ted leaves, and white flowers ; and, generally,
with light-coloured hark. Natives o f E n ro iic , Asia, and N orth America.
Some o f them arc cultivated for th e ir fruit, and th e othe rs as ornamental.
In British nurseries, th e deciduous species are generally propagated hy graft!
ing or budding on th e Cérasus sylvéstris, and th e evergreens are propagated
by cuttings or seeds ; they will grow iu any common soil that is tolerably dry.
There is much confusion in all the species, more particularly as i-egards
those which are natives o f North America ; and which, as Sir W. J. Hooker
judiciously observes, can only be “ removed by carefully studying the plants
in a living state, both during the season o f the blossom and that o f the fruit.”
(Flor. Bor. Amer., i. p. 167.)
5 i. Cerasóphora Dec. The Cherry-hearing Kinds.
Sect. Char. Flowers produced from buds upon shoots not of the same year ;
and, in many instances, disposed umbellately. Leaves deciduous.
A. Species cultivated fo r their Fruit.
The Cherries cultivated in Gardens, according to Linnæus, and almost all
botanists to the time o f DeCandolle, have been referred to^ Primus àvium L .
and Prùnus Cérasus L . ; the former being the mérisier of the French, and
corresponding with the small wild black bitter cherry o f the English (the C.
sylvéstris of R a y ) ; and tlie latter the cerisier o f the French, and corresponding
with the common red sour cherry o f the English (the C. vulgàris of Miller).
To these two species DeCandolle has added two others; Cérasus
Julián«, which he considers as including the guigniers ; and Cérasus duràcina,^
under which he includes the bigarreaus, or hard cherries. Under each of
these four species, Seringe, in DeCandolle’s Prodromus, has arranged a number
of varieties, with definitions to each group : but, as neither the species
nor the grou|is appear to us distinct, we have adopted the arrangement of the
author of the article on Cérasus in the Nouveau DuHamel, as much more
simple and satisfactory ; and have referred all the cultivated varieties to the
same species as Linnæus; substituting for Prùnus àvium L ., Cérasus sylvéstri.s,
the synon. of Ray ; and for Iriimus Cérasus L ., Cérasus vulgàris, already used
to designate the same species in MiU. D iet., and by Loiseleur in the Nouveau Du
Hamel. The arrangement of the varieties, and general culture of the cherry in
the kitchen-garden and orchard, will be found at length in our Encyclopædia of
Gardening; and, in a more condensed form, in our Suburban Ilorticiillurist.
Ï 1. C. sylve'stris Bauh. and Ray. The wild black-fruited Cherry Tree.
Identification. B.iuh. H is t., 1.1. 2. p. 220. ; E.iy Hist. 1539. ; Tcrs. .Sj-n„ 2. p. _
Synortiimcs an d Garden N am es. C. àvium M x n c h , N . D a H am . 6. p. 10., Do n s MtU. 2. p,.i05. ;
C nler.-i MiU. D ie t. No. 2., n o t o[ Ait. ; P rù n u s àvium L m . Sp. 080. ; P . àvium v.ir, «t ancl g
i v a i d . B a um , ctl, 2. p. 308. ; P rù n u s àvium v ar. ß mul E n g . Flor. 2. p 35.5 ; P . n ip rica n s and
P vària F /ir B e i t r .1 . p 120, 127. ; Goail, Big a rre au . Corono, Coroon, Small Black, Black Uert-
fordsliire, Black H e a rt, Black Mazzard, th e Merry T re e o f Ike Cheshire p easants, tho Merries tn
Si4ÿ ô t t ; Sviérisler, Merise grosse noire. G u ig n ie r, B ig a rre a u tie r, H e aumier, i r . ; Susse Kirsche,
Ger. ; Cireeiolo, Itiil. „ »
Derivntion. T h is ch e rry is called Corone, o r Coroon, m some p a r ts o f E n g lan d , from corone, n
crow, in reference to its blackness. Merry T re e an d Merries are evidently c o rru p tio n s oi th e
word Mérisier ; and Mérisier is said to be d e riv e d from th e words ame re, b itte r, and cerisc, a
cherry. Biga rre au is derived from b ig a rrée party-coloured, because th e che rrie s known by this
name arc-g e n era lly o f two co lo u rs, yellow and r e d ; an d llc a um ie r is fiom th e I r c tic h word
a helmet, from th e sliapc of th e fru it. -
Engravings. D u Ham. T r. Arb., 1. p . 156. ; Arb. B rit., 1st ed it., vol. vi. ; an d o u r J?¿r. 447.
Spec. Char., 4c. Branches vigorous and divaricate ; the buds from wiiich the
fruits are produced oblong-acute. Flowers in umbel-like groups, sessile,
not numerous. Leaves ovai-Ianceolate, pointed, serrated, somewliat pendent,
slightly pubescent on the under side, and furnished with two glands at
the base. {Dec. Prod., N. Du H am e l) ^ A middle-sized tree. Europe, in
woods and hedges. Height, in tlry fertile soils, 40 ft. to 50 ft. or upwards.
Flowers white ; April and May. Drupe red or black ; ripe in July. Decaying
leaves of a fine red, or rich yellow and red.
Varieties.
1. Mérisiers or Mcrnes, witli black or yellow fruit.
2. Guigniers or Geans (C. Juliana D e c.), with red or black fruit, early or
late, and including the tobacco-leaved guignier, or gean, o f four to the
pound (the C. decumana o f Delauny).
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