California. A distinct evergreen species, with thick leathery leaves, and erect racemes of small white flowers. A native of dry hilly ground along the coast from San Francisco to San Diego. Hardy in most situations, but requiring light warm soil and a dry situation.
P. LAUNESIANA (_syn Cerasus Launesiana_).--j.a.pan, 1870. This is a valuable addition to the already long list of ornamental-flowering Cherries. It flowers in the early spring, when the tree is literally enshrouded in rose-coloured flowers, and which produce a very striking effect. The tree is quite hardy, flowers well even in a young state, and will grow in any soil that suits our common wild species.
P. LAUROCERASUS (_syn Cerasus Laurocerasus_).--Common, or Cherry Laurel.
Levant, 1629. Although a well-known garden and park shrub, of which a description is unnecessary, the common or Cherry Laurel, when in full flower, must be ranked amongst our more ornamental shrubs. There are several varieties all worthy of culture for the sake of their evergreen leaves and showy flower spikes. P. Laurocerasus rotundifolia has leaves that are broader in proportion to their length than those of the common species; P. Laurocerasus caucasica is of st.u.r.dy growth, with deep green leaves, and a compact habit of growth; P. Laurocerasus colchica is the freest-flowering Laurel in cultivation, with horizontally arranged branches and pale green leaves; P. Laurocerasus latifolia, a rather tender shrub, with bold handsome foliage; and P. Laurocerasus parvifolia, of low growth, but never very satisfactory in appearance.
Three other less common forms might also be mentioned. P. Laurocerasus angustifolia, with narrow leaves; P. Laurocerasus camelliaefolia, with thick leathery foliage; and P. Laurocerasus intermedia, halfway between P. Laurocerasus angustifolia and the common Laurel.
P. LUSITANICA (_syn Cerasus lusitanica_).--Portugal Laurel. Portugal, 1648. A well-known shrub or small growing tree, and one of the most valuable of all our hardy evergreens. It is of neat and compact growth, with a good supply of bright green shining foliage, and bears long spikes of pleasing creamy white perfumed flowers. P. lusitanica myrtifolia (Myrtle-leaved Portugal Laurel) differs from the species in the smaller, longer, and narrower leaves, which are more thickly arranged, and in its more decided upright habit. P. lusitanica variegata is hardly sufficiently constant or distinct to warrant recommendation.
P. lusitanica azorica, from the Azores, is of more robust growth than the common plant, with larger and richer green leaves, and the bark of the younger branches is of a very decided reddish tinge.
P. MAHALEB (_syn Cerasus Mahaleb_).--The Mahaleb, or Perfumed Cherry.
South Europe, 1714. This and its variegated variety P. Mahaleb variegata are very free-flowering shrubs, and of neat growth. The variegated variety is well worthy of attention, having a clear silvery variegation, chiefly confined to the leaf margin, but in a less degree to the whole of the foliage, and imparting to it a bright, glaucous tint that is highly ornamental. There is a partially weeping form named P. Mahaleb pendula.
P. MARITIMA.--Beach or Sand Plum. North America, 1800. A prostrate, spreading shrub, that is of value for planting in poor sandy soil, and along the sea coast. The flowers are small, but plentifully produced.
P. NANA (_syns Amygdalus nana_ and _A. Besseriana_).--Dwarf Almond. From Tartary, 1683. This is of dwarf, twiggy growth, rarely more than 3 feet high, and bearing an abundance of rose-coloured flowers in early February. From its neat, small growth, and rich profusion of flowers, this dwarf Almond may be reckoned as a most useful and desirable shrub.
Suckers are freely produced in any light free soil.
P. PADUS (_syn Cerasus Padus_).--Bird Cherry or Hagberry. An indigenous species, with oblong, doubly-serrated leaves, and terminal or axillary racemes of pure-white flowers. It is a handsome and distinct small-growing tree, and bears exposure at high alt.i.tudes in a commendable manner.
P. PANICULATA FLORE-PLENO (_syns Cerasus serrulata flore-pleno_ and _C.
Sieboldii_).--China, 1822. This is one of the most desirable of the small-growing and double-flowered Cherries. It is of neat growth, with short, stout branches that are spa.r.s.ely furnished with twigs, and smooth, obovate, pointed leaves, bristly serrated on the margins.
Flowers double and white at first, but afterwards tinged with pink, freely produced and of good, lasting substance. P. paniculata Watereri is a handsome variety that most probably may be linked to the species.
P. PENNSYLVANIA.--American Wild Red Cherry. North America, 1773. This is an old-fashioned garden tree, and one of the choicest, producing in May a great abundance of its tiny white flowers.
P. PERSICA FLORE-PLENO (_syns Amygdalus Persica flore-pleno_ and _Persica vulgaris_), double-flowering Peach, is likewise well worthy of culture, there being white, rose, and crimson-flowering forms.
P. PUDDUM (_syns P. Pseudo-cerasus_ and _Cerasus Pseudo-cerasus_).--b.a.s.t.a.r.d Cherry. China, 1891. There are very few more ornamental trees in cultivation in this country than the double-flowering Cherry. It makes a charming small-growing tree, is of free growth and perfectly hardy, and one of, if not the most, floriferous of the tribe. The flowers are individually large, pinky or purplish-white, and produced with the leaves in April.
P. SINENSIS.--China, 1869. A Chinese Plum of somewhat slender growth, and with the branches wreathed in small, white flowers. It is often seen as a pot plant, but it is one of the hardiest of its family. P. sinensis flore-pleno is a double white form, and the most ornamental for pot work. There is also a variety with rose-coloured flowers.
P. SPINOSA.--Sloe, or Blackthorn. An indigenous, spiny shrub, with tiny white flowers; and P. spinosa flore-pleno has small, rosette-like flowers that are both showy and effective.
P. TOMENTOSA.--j.a.pan, 1872. This is one of the most desirable of hardy shrubs, with large, white, flesh-tinted flowers produced in the first weeks of March, and in such quant.i.ties as almost to hide the branches from view. It forms a well-rounded, dense bush of 5 feet or 6 feet high.
P. TRILOBA (_syns P. virgata, Amygdalopsis Lindleyi_ and _Prunopsis Lindleyi_).--China, 1857. This is a very handsome early-flowering shrub, that is at once recognised by the generally three-lobed leaves. It is one of the first to flower, the blossoms being produced in March and April, and sometimes even earlier when the plant is grown against a sunny, sheltered wall. The semi-double flowers are large and of good substance, and of a rosy-white tint, but deep rose in the bud state.
There is a nursery form of this plant with white flowers, named P.
triloba alba. It is quite hardy, bears pruning well, and grows quickly, soon covering a large s.p.a.ce of a wall or warm, sunny bank. As an ornamental flowering lawn shrub it has few equals, the blossoms remaining good for fully a fortnight.
P. VIRGINIANA (_syn Cerasus virginiana_) and P. SEROTINA (North American Bird Cherries) are worthy species, with long cl.u.s.ters of flowers resembling those of our native Bird Cherry. They are large-growing species, and, particularly the latter, are finding favour with cultivators in this country on account of their bold and ornamental appearance.
PTELEA.
PTELEA TRIFOLIATA.--Hop Tree, or Swamp Dogwood. North America, 1704. A small-growing tree, with trifoliolate, yellowish-green leaves placed on long footstalks, and inconspicuous greenish flowers. The leaves, when bruised, emit an odour resembling Hops. P. trifoliata variegata is one of the handsomest of golden-leaved trees, and is well worthy of extensive planting. It is preferable in leaf colouring to the golden Elder. Perfectly hardy.
PUNICA.
PUNICA GRANATUM.--Pomegranate. For planting against a southern-facing wall this pretty shrub is well suited, but it is not sufficiently hardy for the colder parts of the country. Frequently in the more favoured parts of the country it reaches a height of 14 feet, with a branch-spread of nearly as much, and is then, when in full flower, an object of general admiration and of the greatest beauty. The flowers are of a rich, bright scarlet colour, and well set off by the glossy, dark green leaves. P. Granatum rubra flore-pleno is a decidedly ornamental shrub, in which the flowers are of a bright scarlet, and perfectly double. They grow satisfactorily in light, but rich soil.
PYRUS.
PYRUS ARIA.--White Beam Tree. Europe (Britain). A shrub or small-growing tree, with lobed leaves, covered thickly on the under sides with a close, flocculent down. The flowers are small and white, and produced in loose corymbs. It is a handsome small tree, especially when the leaves are ruffled by the wind and the under sides revealed to view. The red or scarlet fruit is showy and beautiful.
P. AUCUPARIA.--Mountain Ash, or Rowan Tree. Too well-known to need description, but one of our handsomest small-growing trees, and whether for the sake of its dense corymbs of small white flowers or large bunches of scarlet fruit it is always welcomed and admired. P. Aucuparia pendula has the branches inclined to be pendulous; and P. Aucuparia fructo-luteo differs from the normal plant in having yellowish instead of scarlet fruit.
P. AMERICANA (_syn Sorbus americana_).--American Mountain Ash. This species, a native of the mountains of Pennsylvania and Virginia (1782), is much like our Rowan Tree in general appearance, but the bunches of berries are larger, and of a brighter red colour.
P. ANGUSTIFOLIA.--North America, 1750. A double-flowered crab is offered under this name, of vigorous growth, bearing delicate pink, rose-like flowers that are deliciously fragrant, and borne contemporaneously with the leaves. The merits claimed for the shrub are perfect hardihood, great beauty of blossom and leaf, delicious fragrance, and adaptability to various soils. The single-flowered form extends over large areas in the Atlantic States of North America. They are very desirable, small-growing trees, and are described by Professor Sargent as being not surpa.s.sed in beauty by any of the small trees of North America.
P. BACCATA.--Siberian Crab. Siberia and Dahuria, 1784. This is one of the most variable species in cultivation, and from which innumerable forms have been developed, that differ either in habit, foliage, flowers, or fruit. The deciduous calyx would seem to be the only reliable distinguishing character. It is a widely-distributed species, being found in North China and j.a.pan, Siberia and the Himalayas, and has from time immemorial been cultivated by the Chinese and j.a.panese, so that it is not at all surprising that numbers of forms have been developed.
P. CORONARIA.--Sweet Scented Crab. North America, 1724. This is a handsome species, with ovate, irregularly-toothed leaves, and pink and white fragrant flowers. The flowers are individually large and corymbose, and are succeeded by small green fruit.
P. DOMESTICA (_syn Sorbus domestica_).--True Service. Britain. This resembles the Mountain Ash somewhat, but the flowers are panicled, and the berries fewer, larger, and pear-shaped. The flowers are conspicuous enough to render the tree of value in ornamental planting.
P. FLORIBUNDA (_syns P. Malus floribunda_ and _Malus microcarpa floribunda_).--China and j.a.pan, 1818. The j.a.panese Crabs are wonderfully floriferous, the branches being in most instances wreathed with flowers that are individually not very large, and rarely exceeding an inch in diameter when fully expanded. Generally in the bud state the flowers are of a deep crimson, but this disappears as they become perfectly developed, and when a less striking tint of pinky-white is a.s.sumed. From the St. Petersburgh gardens many very ornamental Crabs have been sent out, these differing considerably in colour of bark, habit, and tint of flowers. They have all been referred to the above species. P. floribunda is a worthy form, and one of the most brilliant of spring-flowering trees. The long, slender shoots are thickly covered for almost their entire length with flowers that are rich crimson in the bud state, but paler when fully opened. There are numerous, very distinct varieties, such as P. floribunda atrosanguinea, with deep red flowers; P.
floribunda Elise Rathe, of pendulous habit; P. floribunda John Downie, very beautiful in fruit; P. floribunda pendula, a semi-weeping variety; P. floribunda praec.o.x, early-flowering; P. floribunda mitis, of small size; P. floribunda Halleana or Parkmanii, probably the most beautiful of all the forms; and P. floribunda Fairy Apple and P. floribunda Transcendant Crab, of interest on account of their showy fruit. P.
floribunda Toringo (Toringo Crab) is a j.a.panese tree of small growth, with sharply cut, usually three-lobed, p.u.b.escent leaves, and small flowers. Fruit small, with deciduous calyx lobes.
P. GERMANICA (_syn Mespilus germanica_).--Common Medlar. Europe (Britain), Asia Minor, Persia. Early records show that the Medlar was cultivated for its fruit as early as 1596. Some varieties are still grown for that purpose, and in that state the tree is not devoid of ornament. The large, white flowers are produced singly, but have a fine effect in their setting of long, lanceolate, finely-serrate leaves during May.
P. j.a.pONICA (_syn Cydonia j.a.ponica_).--j.a.panese Quince. j.a.pan, 1815.
This is one of the commonest of our garden shrubs, and one that is peculiarly well suited for our climate, whether planted as a standard or as a wall plant. The flowers are brilliant crimson, and plentifully produced towards the end of winter and before the leaves. Besides the species there are several very fine varieties, including P. j.a.ponica albo cincta, P. j.a.ponica atropurpurea, P. j.a.ponica coccinea, P. j.a.ponica flore-pleno, P. j.a.ponica nivalis, a charming species, with snowy-white flowers; P. j.a.ponica rosea, of a delicate rose-pink; and P. j.a.ponica princeps. P. j.a.ponica cardinalis is one of the best of the numerous forms of this beautiful shrub. The flowers are of large size, of full rounded form, and of a deep cardinal-rose colour. They are produced in great quant.i.ty along the branches. A well-grown specimen is in April a brilliant picture of vivid colour, and the shrub is sooner or later destined to a chief place amongst our ornamental flowering shrubs. P.
j.a.ponica Maulei (_syn Cydonia Maulei_), from j.a.pan (1874), is a rare shrub as yet, small of growth, and with every twig festooned with the brightest of orange-scarlet flowers. It is quite hardy, and succeeds well under treatment that will suit the common species.
P. PRUNIFOLIA.--Siberia, 1758. Whether in flower or fruit this beautiful species is sure to attract attention. It is a tree of 25 feet in height, with nearly rotundate, glabrous leaves on long footstalks, and pretty pinky-white flowers. The fruit is very ornamental, being, when fully ripe, of a deep and glowing scarlet, but there are forms with yellow, and green, as also striped fruit.
P. RIVULARIS.--River-side Wild Service Tree. North-west America, 1836. A native of North America, with terminal cl.u.s.ters of white flowers, succeeded by sub-globose red or yellow fruit, is an attractive and handsome species. The fruit is eaten by the Indians of the North-west, and the wood, which is very hard and susceptible of a fine polish, is largely used in the making of wedges. It is a rare species in this country.
P. SINICA (_syn P. sinensis of Lindley_).--Chinese Pear Tree. China and Cochin China, 1820. Another very ornamental Crab, bearing a great abundance of rosy-pink or nearly white flowers. It is a shrub-like tree, reaching a height of 20 feet, and with an upright habit of growth. Bark of a rich, reddish-brown colour. It is one of the most profuse and persistent bloomers of the whole family.
P. SINENSIS (_syn Cydonia chinensis_).--Chinese Quince. China, 1818.
This is rarely seen in cultivation, it having, comparatively speaking, few special merits of recommendation.
P. SMITHII (_syns Mespilis Smithii_ and _M. grandiflora_).--Smith"s Medlar. Caucasus, 1800. The habit of this tree closely resembles that of a Hawthorn, and although the flowers are only half the size of those of the Common Medlar, they are produced in greater profusion, so that the round-headed tree becomes a sheet of white blossom during May and June.
The reddish-brown fruits are small for a Medlar, and ripen in October.
P. TORMINALIS.--Wild Service Tree. A native species of small growth, with ovate-cordate leaves, and small white flowers. P. torminalis pinnatifida, with acutely-lobed leaves, and oval-oblong fruit may just be mentioned.
P. VESt.i.tA.--Nepaul White Beam. Nepaul, 1820. In this species the leaves are very large, ovate-acute or elliptic, and when young thickly coated with a white woolly-like substance, but which with warm weather gradually gives way until they are of a smooth and shining green. The flowers are borne in woolly racemose corymbs, and are white succeeded by greenish-brown berries as large as marbles.
Other species of less interest are P. varidosa, P. salicifolia, P.
salvaefolia, P. Bollwylleriana, and P. Amygdaliformis. They are all of free growth, and the readiest culture, and being perfectly hardy are well worthy of a much larger share of attention than they have heretofore received.