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Cherokee plum, Chickasaw plum, Chickasaw plume, Florida sand plum, sandhill plum

dwarf flowering almond, flowering almond

Habit Shrubs or trees, often suckering, 10–50 dm, thorny. Shrubs, suckering, 5–20 dm, not thorny.
Twigs

with axillary end buds, glabrous.

with terminal end buds, glabrous.

Leaves

deciduous;

petiole 2–14 mm, usually sparsely hairy on adaxial surface, rarely glabrous or hairy on both surfaces, usually eglandular, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–2;

blade lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, usually folded along midribs, often ± falcate, 1.5–6 × 0.8–2 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins crenulate-serrulate, teeth blunt, glandular, glands reddish orange, conic, apex acute, abaxial surface glabrate with hairs along midribs and major veins, adaxial glabrous.

deciduous;

petiole 1–6 mm, hairy on adaxial surface, eglandular;

blade narrowly elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, 2.5–9 × 0.9–2.5 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins crenulate-serrulate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex acute to acuminate, abaxial surface glabrous or slightly hairy along midribs and veins, adaxial glabrous.

Inflorescences

2–4-flowered, umbellate fascicles.

solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles.

Pedicels

3–10 mm, glabrous.

6–15 mm, glabrous or sparsely puberulent.

Flowers

blooming before, sometimes at, leaf emergence;

hypanthium campanulate, 1.5–3 mm, usually glabrous, rarely hairy, externally;

sepals erect to spreading, ovate, 1–2 mm, margins entire, sparsely ciliate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial hairy;

petals white, suborbiculate to obovate, 3–6 mm;

ovaries glabrous.

blooming at leaf emergence;

hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous or sparsely puberulent externally;

sepals spreading to reflexed, ovate, 2.5–5 mm, margins glandular-toothed, ± ciliate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely puberulent;

petals 25+, white or pink, elliptic to narrowly elliptic, 8–11 mm;

ovaries glabrous.

Drupes

red to yellow, lightly glaucous, globose to ellipsoid, 15–20 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones ovoid, ± flattened.

reddish, subglobose, 10–15 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones subglobose, not flattened.

2n

= 16.

Prunus angustifolia

Prunus glandulosa

Phenology Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting May–Aug. Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat Thickets, upland sandy soil, open woods, sand dunes, fence rows, pastures, roadsides, stream bottoms Roadsides, fencerows, abandoned plantings
Elevation 0–600 m (0–2000 ft) 0–400 m (0–1300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CO; DC; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NE; NJ; NM; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
IA; MI; NC; ON; e Asia (China, Japan) [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

A naturalized population of Prunus angustifolia in Santa Barbara County, California, has been extirpated.

Prunus angustifolia is one of the more distinctive plum species in North America. The leaves are relatively small, usually folded along their midribs, and have relatively large, reddish orange, conic glands along the margins. When it hybridizes with other plums, the hybrids often have distinctive characteristics and have been named as species more often than hybrids not involving P. angustifolia: P. ×orthosepala Koehne (angustifolia × americana), P. ×slavinii E. J. Palmer ex Rehder (angustifolia × gracilis), P. ×utahensis Koehne (angustifolia × pumila var. besseyi); see also discussion under 42. P. rivularis.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Double-flowered cultivars of Prunus glandulosa, which lack stamens and carpels, are commonly planted as foundation shrubs and in borders. Although the plants are attractive in bloom, some horticulturalists consider them of little ornamental value otherwise.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 381. FNA vol. 9, p. 377.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus
Sibling taxa
P. americana, P. andersonii, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. caroliniana, P. cerasifera, P. cerasus, P. domestica, P. dulcis, P. emarginata, P. eremophila, P. fasciculata, P. fremontii, P. geniculata, P. glandulosa, P. gracilis, P. havardii, P. hortulana, P. ilicifolia, P. laurocerasus, P. lusitanica, P. mahaleb, P. maritima, P. mexicana, P. minutiflora, P. murrayana, P. myrtifolia, P. nigra, P. padus, P. pensylvanica, P. persica, P. pumila, P. rivularis, P. serotina, P. speciosa, P. spinosa, P. subcordata, P. subhirtella, P. texana, P. tomentosa, P. umbellata, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
P. americana, P. andersonii, P. angustifolia, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. caroliniana, P. cerasifera, P. cerasus, P. domestica, P. dulcis, P. emarginata, P. eremophila, P. fasciculata, P. fremontii, P. geniculata, P. gracilis, P. havardii, P. hortulana, P. ilicifolia, P. laurocerasus, P. lusitanica, P. mahaleb, P. maritima, P. mexicana, P. minutiflora, P. murrayana, P. myrtifolia, P. nigra, P. padus, P. pensylvanica, P. persica, P. pumila, P. rivularis, P. serotina, P. speciosa, P. spinosa, P. subcordata, P. subhirtella, P. texana, P. tomentosa, P. umbellata, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
Synonyms P. angustifolia subsp. varians, P. angustifolia var. watsonii
Name authority Marshall: Arbust. Amer., 111. (1785) Thunberg: in J. A. Murray, Syst. Veg. ed. 14, 463. (1784)
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