Michigan Trees Part 35

[Ill.u.s.tration: +Wild Red Cherry. Pin Cherry+

1. Winter twig, 1.

2. Portion of twig, enlarged.

3. Leaf, 1.

4. Margin of leaf, enlarged.

5. Flowering branchlet, 1/2.

6. Flower, enlarged.

7. Fruit, 1.]

+ROSACEAE+

+Wild Red Cherry. Pin Cherry+

_Prunus pennsylvanica L. f._

HABIT.--A slender tree, seldom over 30 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 8-10 inches; crown rather open, narrow, rounded, with slender, regular branches.

LEAVES.--Alternate, simple, 3-5 inches long, 3/4-1-1/4 inches broad; oblong-lanceolate; finely and sharply serrate; bright green and shining above, paler beneath; petioles slender, 1/2-1 inch long, glandular near the blade.

FLOWERS.--May-June, with the leaves; perfect; about 1/2 inch across, borne on slender pedicels in 4-5-flowered umbels, generally cl.u.s.tered, 2-3 together; calyx 5-cleft, campanulate; petals 5, white, 1/4 inch long; stamens 15-20.

FRUIT.--July-August; a globular drupe, 1/4 inch in diameter, light red, with thick skin and sour flesh.

WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal bud 1/8 inch long, broadly ovoid, rather blunt, brownish, smooth.

BARK.--Twigs at first l.u.s.trous, red, marked by orange colored lenticels, becoming brownish; red-brown and thin on the trunk, peeling off horizontally into broad, papery plates; bitter, aromatic.

WOOD.--Light, soft, close-grained, light brown, with thin, yellow sapwood.

DISTRIBUTION.--Throughout the northern portion of the state, extending southward to Ionia County.

HABITAT.--Abundant on sand-lands; roadsides; burned-over lands; clearings; hillsides.

NOTES.--Rapid of growth. Short-lived.

[Ill.u.s.tration: +Canada Plum. Red Plum+

1. Winter twig, 1.

2. Portion of twig, enlarged.

3. Leaf, 1/2.

4. Flowering branchlet, 1/2.

5. Vertical section of flower, 1.

6. Fruiting branchlet, 1/2.]

+ROSACEAE+

+Canada Plum. Red Plum+

_Prunus nigra Ait._ [_Prunus americana, v. nigra Waugh_]

HABIT.--A small tree 20-25 feet high and 5-8 inches in trunk diameter; usually divides 5-6 feet from the ground into a number of stout, upright branches, forming a narrow, rigid crown.

LEAVES.--Alternate, simple, 3-5 inches long and one-half as broad; oblong-ovate to obovate, abruptly ac.u.minate at the apex; doubly crenate-serrate; thick and firm; glabrous, light green above, paler beneath; petioles short, stout, bearing 2 large red glands near the blade.

FLOWERS.--May, before the leaves; perfect; slightly fragrant; about 1 inch across; borne on slender, glabrous, red pedicels in 2-3-flowered umbels; calyx 5-lobed, dark red; petals 5, white; stamens 15-20, with purple anthers; ovary 1-celled; style 1; stigma 1.

FRUIT.--August-September; a fleshy drupe, about 1 inch long, oblong-ovoid, with a tough, thick, orange-red skin nearly free from bloom, and yellow flesh adherent to the flat stone. Eaten raw or cooked.

WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal bud absent; lateral buds 1/8-1/4 inch long, ovate, acute, chestnut-brown.

BARK.--Twigs green, marked by numerous pale excrescences, later dark brown; thin, gray-brown and smooth on young trunks, but soon splitting off in large, thick plates, exposing the darker inner bark.

WOOD.--Heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, light red-brown, with thin, lighter colored sapwood.

DISTRIBUTION.--Upper Peninsula and the Lower Peninsula north of Lansing.

HABITAT.--Prefers rich, alluvial soil along streams.

NOTES.--Suckers freely, forming low, broad thickets.

[Ill.u.s.tration: +Coffeetree. Kentucky Coffeetree+

1. Winter twig, 1.

2. Leaf, 1/4.

3. Leaflet, 1/2.

4. Vertical section of staminate flower, enlarged.

5. Vertical section of pistillate flower, enlarged.

6. Fruit, 1/4.]

+LEGUMINOSAE+

+Coffeetree. Kentucky Coffeetree+

_Gymnocladus dioica (L.) Koch_ [_Gymnocladus canadensis Lam._]

HABIT.--A slender tree 50-75 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 2-3 feet; divides near the ground into several stems which spread slightly to form a narrow, pyramidal crown; branchlets stout, clumsy, blunt, with conspicuous leaf-scars.

LEAVES.--Alternate, bipinnately compound, 1-3 feet long. Leaflets 40 or more, 2-2-1/2 inches long and one-half as broad; short-stalked; ovate, acute; entire; thin and firm; dark green above, pale yellow-green and glabrous beneath. Petioles stout, terete, glabrous. Appear late in spring.

FLOWERS.--June, after the leaves; dioecious; greenish white; the staminate short-stalked, in racemose corymbs 3-4 inches long; the pistillate long-stalked, in racemes 10-12 inches long; calyx tubular, hairy; petals 5, keeled, nearly white; stamens 10; ovary hairy.