1. CHRYSOBALANUS. L in n .; Lam. ill. t. 428; DC. prodr. 2. p. 525.
Calyx campanulate, 5-cleft, persistent ; the segments nearly equal. Petals
5, unguiculate or sessile. Stamens about 20, in a single series ; those
next the style sometimes shorter and abortive. Ovary sessile, with 2 collateral
ovules ; the style arising from the base. Drupe 1-seeded, with a
small quantity of pulp ; the nucleus coriaceous, usually 5-sulcate.—Unarmed
shrubs, with alternate mostly entire pinnately veined and reticulated
leaves, and minute stipules. Flowers in axillary or terminal paniculate
cymes,
1. C. oblongifolius (Michx.) : flowers terminal; filaments united at the
baseband, as well as the ovary, glabrous; petals roundish, sessile; fruit
eblong, nearly dry ; the nucleus not grooved ; leaves oblong, oboVate-oblong,
or oblanceolate, sometimes emarginate, obscurely crenulate, usually glabrous;
the upper surface reticulated and shining.—Michx. ! Jl. 1. p. 283 ;
Nutt. gen. 1. p. 301 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 539 ; DC. 1. c.
Sandy pine woods, Georgia! Alabama ! and Florida ! May-June.—
Trunk prostrate, slender; the branches 8-12 inches high. Leaves nearly
sessile, sometimes (ex Michaux Sf Nutt.) tomentose beneath. Flowers small,
white. Style compressed. Fruit. nearly an inch in length.—In some cases
we observe the vestiges of the style arising near the summit of the drupe.
The endocarp is neither grooved, nor dehiscent.
2. C. Icaco (Linn.) : flowers axillary ; filaments 'and ovary hirsute ; fruit
(large) roundish, esculent; leaves obovale or roundish, emarginate, the upper
surface shining and reticulated.—Jacq. stirp. Amer. t. 94 ; Plum. Amer.
t. 158 ; D C .! prodr. 2. p. 525.
Southern Florida, Dr. Hosier !—The fruit is eaten in the West Indies,
under the name of Cocoa-Plum.
S uborder II. AMYGDALEiE. Juss.
Calyx free from the ovary, deciduous. Ovary solitary, with 2
collateral suspended ovules ; styles terminal: stigma reniform or
emarginate. Fruit a drupe. Seed mostly solitary, suspended in
consequence o f the cohesion o f the funiculus with the side o f the
cavity o f the ovary.—Trees or shrubs (confined to cold or temperate
climates,) with simple leaves, which are commonly glandular
towards the base. Stipules free. Fruit eatable : the bark yielding
gum ; and the leaves, bark, and kernel containing hydrocyanic
acid.
2. PRUNUS. T ow n .; Juss. gen.p. 341 ; DC. prodr. 2. p. 532.
Calyx urceolate-hemispherical; the limb 5-parted, regular, deciduous.
Petals much spreading. Stamens 15-30. Ovary glabrous, with 2 collateral
pendulous ovules. Drupe ovate or oblong, fleshy, glabrous, usually covered
with a bloom ; the stone or nucleus more or less compressed, acute,
smooth, the margins somewhat grooved.—Small trees or shrubs. Leaves
serrate, convolute in vernation. Flowers usually appearing before the
leaves, from lateral buds ; the pedicels umbellate-fascicled.—Plum.
P. Americana is the only native species of this country which has a flat
stone, grooved on both margins: the others are, in their fruit, somewhat intermediate
between this genus ‘ and Cerasus; the stone being slightly compressed,
and the glaucous bloom wanting, except in P. maritima; yet they are
evidently Plums and not Cherries, and cannot with propriety be separated
from this genus.
1. P. Americana (Marshall): branches somewhat thorny; leaves ovate-oblong,
ovate, or somewhat obovate, conspicuously acuminate, sharply and
often doubly serrate, strongly veined beneath, at length nearly glabrous;
petioles often biglandular; umbels 2-5-flowered; drupe roundish-oval, (red
and yellow when ripe) nearly destitute of bloom.—Marsh, arbust. p. I l l ;
Darlingt. ! jl. Cest. p. 287, Sf in ann. lyc.. New York,, 3. p. 87, t. 1. pi
nigra, A it.! Kew. (ed. 1.) 2. p. 165 ; Bot. mag. t. 1117 ; Pursh ! Jl. 1. p .
331 ; Willd.! spec. 2. p. 993. P. hyemalis, Ell. sic. 1. p. 542. Cerasus
nigra, Loisel. ; Seringe in D C .! prodr. 2. p. 538 ; Hook. Sr Am . in
corn-pan. to bot. mag. 1. p. 24 ; Hook. ! jl. Bor.-Am. 1. p. 167. P. triflora,
Raj. ann. nat. 1
0. mollis: leaves, and pedicels pubescent, especially when young (drupe
blackish when ripe).—P. mollis, Torr. ! Jl. 1. p. 470. “P. hiemalis, "Michx.!
jl. 1. p. 284. Cerasus hyemalis, Seringe ! 1. c. C. Americana, Hook. Sr
Am. 1. c. , , , „ . i f e E s j a ~
Banks of streams and in hedges, Canada! (from the Saskatchawan!) and
New England States! to Georgia and Louisiana! and Texas ! Often cultivated.
April-May.—Stem 8-15 feet high; the old branches rough and
somewhat thorny. Leave's rather coarsely serrate. Drupe i-1 inch in
diameter, mostly reddish-orange when ripe, with a juicy yellow pulp and a
thick tough skin.—Red Plum. Yellow Plum.—Few N. American plants
are diffused through so many degrees of latitude as the present species. It
is a true Plum and not a Cerasus. We have no Winter-plum; and this
species, as Elliott and Dr. Darlington remark, ripens its fruit in July and
August. J
2. P . Chicasa (Michx.): branches thorny; leaves oblong-lanceolate or
oblanceolate, acute, serrulate with indexed glandular-pointed teeth, nearly
glabrous; petioles mostly glandular; umbels 2-3-flowered, the short pedicels
and calyx glabrous; drupe globose (red or yellowish red), nearly destitute
of bloom.—Michx.! Jl. 1. p. 284 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 542 ; Darlingt. 1. c.
P. angustifolia, Marsh. 1. c. Cerasus Chioasa, DC. ! 1. c. ; Hook.! in
compan. to bot. mag. 1. p. 24.
0. ? normalis: pedicels and calyx more or less pubescent; leaves oval,
tomentose-pubescent beneath, the serratures sometimes spreading.
South Western States! and Arkansas! perhaps only native of the country
west of the Mississippi, from which, according to the traditions of the Indians,
it was by them introduced into the Atlantic (Southern), States, where
it is extensively naturalized: sometimes cultivated in the Northern States.
April. 0. Texas & Arkansas, Dr. Leavenworth! Texas, Drummond!__The
pubescent variety is perhaps the original wild stock of the well-known domesticated
or naturalized Chickasaw Plum. Dr. Leavenworth remarks
that it is only 3 or 4 feet high on the Prairies of Arkansas, and that the
plums are small and rather astringent. The serratures of the leaves in Mr.
Drummond’s specimens (which want the flowers) are more sharp and
salient, but Dr. Leavenworth’s connect them with the cultivated form. Dr.
Hale speaks of this species as a naturalized plant even in Western Louisiana!
The fruit in cultivation is half an inch or more in diameter, with a thin
skin, and a tender pulp, usually very pleasant; but, like all our species,