Burke: Prunus subcordata vs. Prunus americana

	Prunus subcordata	Prunus americana
		American plum, wild plum
Habit		Shrub or small tree, 1-10 m. tall, some of the branches sharp-pointed, the bark deep brownish-purple.
Leaves		Leaves alternate, deciduous, the petioles stout, pubescent, 5-12 mm. long, the blades lanceolate to elliptic, acuminate, acute at the base, serrate, glabrous, often hairy beneath, 4-10 cm. long.
Flowers		Flowers 2-4 in umbels, the pedicels slender; calyx reddish tinged, the 5 lobes 2.5-3.5 mm. long, about equal to the tube, pubescent on the upper surface, oblong-lanceolate, serrulate; petals 5, white, elliptic-oblong, 7-9 mm. long; stamens about 25; pistil 1, simple.
Fruits		Drupe orange to purplish-red, the flesh yellow, 1.8-2.5 cm. long.

	Prunus subcordata	Prunus americana
Flowering time		April-May
Habitat		Along watercourses, and on open or wooded, moist or dry areas from the plains into the lower mountains.
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in southcentral and southeastern Washington; Washington to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains, and further east across North America to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin		Native and introduced from further east of Washington
Conservation status		Not of concern
Sibling taxa	P. americana, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. cerasifera, 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. armeniaca, P. avium, P. cerasifera, 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
Web links	Local floras: CA, OR 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: OR, WA Local Web sites: 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

Prunus subcordata

Prunus americana

American plum, wild plum

Habit

Shrub or small tree, 1-10 m. tall, some of the branches sharp-pointed, the bark deep brownish-purple.

Leaves

Leaves alternate, deciduous, the petioles stout, pubescent, 5-12 mm. long, the blades lanceolate to elliptic, acuminate, acute at the base, serrate, glabrous, often hairy beneath, 4-10 cm. long.

Flowers

Flowers 2-4 in umbels, the pedicels slender;

calyx reddish tinged, the 5 lobes 2.5-3.5 mm. long, about equal to the tube, pubescent on the upper surface, oblong-lanceolate, serrulate;

petals 5, white, elliptic-oblong, 7-9 mm. long;

stamens about 25;

pistil 1, simple.

Fruits

Drupe orange to purplish-red, the flesh yellow, 1.8-2.5 cm. long.

Prunus subcordata

Prunus americana

Flowering time

April-May

Habitat

Along watercourses, and on open or wooded, moist or dry areas from the plains into the lower mountains.

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in southcentral and southeastern Washington; Washington to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains, and further east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native and introduced from further east of Washington

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa