Part 17

The LEAVES, when mature, are alternate, oval, abruptly pointed, finely and doubly toothed along the margin, dark yellow-green, smooth and shiny, thick and firm, 2 to 3 inches long by 1 to 2 inches wide, narrowed or rounded at the base and prominently veined on both surfaces.

The white FLOWERS appear in numerous small clusters in March before the leaves. With a profusion of flowers, this tree is one of the delights of early spring in the woods. The FRUIT, or plum, which ripens in late summer, is dark purple-red color with a bluish “bloom”, about 1¼ inches in diameter, and varies widely in its palatability. The stone is about ¾ inch long, and smooth. The dorsal edge is ridged; the ventral edge grooved.

This species of plum does not sucker to form thickets, is drought resistant, and has been used for grafting stock for the production of commercial plums.

FLATWOODS PLUM (Black Sloe) Prunus umbellata Ell.

This shrub or small tree with a short, often crooked, or inclining trunk and a flat-topped head and slender branches is rarely over 20 feet high. Branchlets at first covered with a dense, pale pubescence, soon become smooth and bright red during the first year and dull dark brown the second year. It occurs throughout the eastern portion of the state.

BARK ¼ inch thick, dark brown, almost black, and broken diagonally into small, hard, appressed, persistent scales. LEAVES bright bronze-green with red margins and petiole when they unfold; at maturity, usually less than 2½ inches long, ovate-lanceolate to oblong with a rounded or slightly cordate base; leaf thin, dark green above, paler below; usually furnished with two large dark glands at the base; margins finely and sharply serrate with incurved teeth.

Small white FLOWERS appearing in umbels of 3 or 4 flowers before the leaves. Flowers ⅔ inch in diameter. FRUIT a drupe on a stem ½ to 1 inch long, round, ½ inch in diameter, and with a tough, black, yellow, or bright red skin covered with a glaucous bloom, and with thick, acid flesh. Stone flattened, brittle-walled, and wrinkled. Dorsal edge grooved; ventral edge with conspicuous ridge. The fruit is relished by deer.

BLACK CHERRY Prunus serotina Ehrh.

A medium-sized tree, up to about 70 feet high and 1 to 3 feet in diameter, black cherry is found in eastern Texas and in the mountains of West Texas. The forest-grown trees have long clear trunks with little taper. Open-grown trees have short trunks with many branches and irregular spreading crowns. The BARK on branches and young trunks is smooth and bright reddish-brown, marked by conspicuous, narrow, white, horizontal lines, and has a bitter almond taste. On the older trunks the bark becomes rough and broken into thick, irregular plates.

The LEAVES are alternate, simple, oval to lance-like in shape, 2 to 6 inches long and 1-1½ inches wide, with fine, incurved serrations, shiny above, and paler beneath. Cattle eating wilted leaves may be fatally poisoned.

The FRUIT is a dull purplish-black drupe, about as large as a pea, and is borne in long hanging panicles. The fruit ripens in late summer, is edible though slightly bitter, and is relished by wildlife.

The WOOD is reddish-brown with yellowish sapwood, moderately heavy, hard, strong, fine-grained, and does not warp or split in seasoning. With the exception of black walnut, cherry lumber has a greater unit value than any other hardwood of the eastern United States. Cherry is prized for furniture.

The SOUTHWESTERN BLACK CHERRY, Prunus serotina var. rufula (Woot. and Standl.) McVaugh is found in the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas. At least five other cherry species are native to Texas. All have shrubby growth.

CAROLINA LAURELCHERRY Prunus caroliniana (Mill.) Ait.

Called by many local names such as cherry laurel, wild peach, and mock orange, this species is native to the eastern portion of the state to the valley of the Guadalupe River, where it is found on deep rich moist bottomlands. It is apparently free from disease and quite adaptable for landscape planting. It is usually a small tree but sometimes reaches a height of 50 to 60 feet and 18 inches in diameter when cultivated. The partially withered leaves and young branches can be fatal to animals browsing upon them, owing to presence of poisonous hydrocyanic acid.

The BARK is rather smooth, gray, and marked by almost black blotches.

The LEAVES are persistent, oblong-lanceolate, with a few tiny sharp teeth along the margins, dark lustrous green above, paler below. They cling until the second year.

The small white FLOWERS come in clusters, in early spring. The FRUIT, a lustrous black drupe, ripens in autumn, and clings until the following spring. The fruit is eaten by some birds.

The WOOD is heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, rich brown in color, with a thick, lighter colored sapwood.

EBONY BLACKBEAD (Texas Ebony) Pithecellobium flexicaule (Benth.) Coult.

This beautiful evergreen occurs as a small tree or shrub in South Texas from Matagorda Bay and south into Mexico. Its short spreading branches, forming a wide, round head, carry stout zigzag brachlets, dark reddish-brown or light gray, armed with persistent stipular spines ¼ to ½ inch long.

The LEAVES, about 2 inches long, are feather-like (twice pinnate) with sessile, leathery leaflets that are dark green and shiny on the upper surface, paler on the lower surface, and ¼ to ⅓ inch long.

The FLOWERS are light yellow or cream colored, fragrant, and bloom from June to August in dense cylindric or interrupted spikes 1½ inches long.

The FRUIT ripens in the fall and remains on the branches until after the flowering season the following year. It is a flattened, curved, hairy pod, 4 to 6 inches long, and about 1 inch wide.

The WOOD is very heavy, hard, close-grained, dark red-brown tinged with purple, almost indestructible when used for fence posts, and valued for cabinet work.

The tree is considered the most valuable species in the lower Rio Grande Valley. Mexicans use the seed as a substitute for coffee.

CATCLAW ACACIA (Una de Gato) Acacia greggii A. Gray

Found on dry gravelly mesas, the sides of low canyons and the banks of mountain streams in the Rio Grande Valley and westward, this small tree rarely reaches a height of 30 feet, and has a trunk up to 12 inches in diameter. The top or head consists of numerous spreading branches and smooth pale brown or red branchlets, armed with stout curved spines.