Burke: Prunus cerasifera vs. Prunus emarginata

	Prunus cerasifera	Prunus emarginata
	cherry plum	bitter cherry
Habit	Deciduous, glabrous and spineless shrub or small tree with glossy, green twigs.	Deciduous, straggly shrubs to erect, spreading trees 15 m. tall, the bark deep reddish-purple on the young twigs.
Leaves	Leaves alternate, oval, finely serrate, 4-7 cm. long, shiny, green or red-purple.	Leaves alternate, the blades elliptic to oblong or obovate, finely serrate, 3-8 cm. long, with petioles 5-12 mm. long.
Flowers	Flowers appearing with the leaves; petals 5, white or pink; stamens 20-30; pistil 1.	Inflorescence a few-flowered, flat-topped raceme; calyx cup-shaped, the 5 oblong-lanceolate lobes 2.5-3.5 mm. long; petals 5, white, obovate, 5-7 mm. long, pubescent on the lower surface; stamens about 20; pistil 1.
Fruits	Globose drupe, yellow or red.	Drupe dark red to nearly black, 8-12 mm. long, very bitter.
Comments	Naturalizes from ornamental purple-leaved, pink-flowered selections.

	Prunus cerasifera	Prunus emarginata
Flowering time	March-April	April-June
Habitat	Open, disturbed areas typically at low elevations.	Thickets, rocky slopes, open forests, shorelines, and openings, from the lowlands to subalpine.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest and in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington, but also in southeastern Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Idaho; also in northeastern North America. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Introduced	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	P. americana, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. cerasus, P. domestica, P. dulcis, P. emarginata, P. laurocerasus, P. lusitanica, P. mahaleb, P. padus, P. persica, P. ×pugetensis, P. spinosa, P. tomentosa, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis	P. americana, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. cerasifera, P. cerasus, P. domestica, P. dulcis, P. laurocerasus, P. lusitanica, P. mahaleb, P. padus, P. persica, P. ×pugetensis, P. spinosa, P. tomentosa, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Prunus emarginata

cherry plum

bitter cherry

Habit

Deciduous, glabrous and spineless shrub or small tree with glossy, green twigs.

Deciduous, straggly shrubs to erect, spreading trees 15 m. tall, the bark deep reddish-purple on the young twigs.

Leaves

Leaves alternate, oval, finely serrate, 4-7 cm. long, shiny, green or red-purple.

Leaves alternate, the blades elliptic to oblong or obovate, finely serrate, 3-8 cm. long, with petioles 5-12 mm. long.

Flowers

Flowers appearing with the leaves;

petals 5, white or pink;

stamens 20-30;

pistil 1.

Inflorescence a few-flowered, flat-topped raceme;

calyx cup-shaped, the 5 oblong-lanceolate lobes 2.5-3.5 mm. long;

petals 5, white, obovate, 5-7 mm. long, pubescent on the lower surface;

stamens about 20;

pistil 1.

Fruits

Globose drupe, yellow or red.

Drupe dark red to nearly black, 8-12 mm. long, very bitter.

Comments

Naturalizes from ornamental purple-leaved, pink-flowered selections.

Prunus emarginata

Flowering time

March-April

April-June

Habitat

Open, disturbed areas typically at low elevations.

Thickets, rocky slopes, open forests, shorelines, and openings, from the lowlands to subalpine.

Distribution

Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest and in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington, but also in southeastern Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Idaho; also in northeastern North America.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]