Prunus angustifolia
Prunus serotina
Cherokee plum, Chickasaw plum, Chickasaw plume, Florida sand plum, sandhill plum
black cherry, black chokecherry, cerisier tardif ou d'automne, merisier, rum cherry
with axillary end buds, glabrous.
with terminal end buds, glabrous or hairy.
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 2–23(–30) mm, glabrous or sparsely to densely hairy, usually glandular distally or at petiole-blade junction, glands 1–6;
blade usually narrowly elliptic, oblong-elliptic, or obovate, sometimes lanceolate, rarely ovate, 2–13.5 × 1.1–6.5 cm, base cuneate to rounded, margins crenulate-serrulate to serrate, teeth incurved or appressed, sharp or blunt, glandular or callus-tipped, apex usually acute to acuminate, sometimes obtuse, rounded to emarginate in var. alabamensis, lateral veins 15–30 per side, flush abaxially, abaxial surface usually densely hairy along midribs proximally, sometimes glabrous or sparsely hairy, adaxial glabrous.
2–4-flowered, umbellate fascicles.
18–55(–90)-flowered, racemes;
central axes (25–)35–160 mm, leafy at bases.
3–10 mm, glabrous.
1–10 mm, glabrous or hairy.
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 after leaf emergence;
hypanthium cupulate, 1.5–3 mm, glabrous externally;
sepals erect-spreading to reflexed, semicircular, 0.5–1.5 mm, margins usually entire, rarely glandular-toothed, rarely ciliate, surfaces glabrous;
petals white, obovate to suborbiculate, 2–4 mm;
ovaries glabrous.
red to yellow, lightly glaucous, globose to ellipsoid, 15–20 mm, glabrous;
mesocarps fleshy;
stones ovoid, ± flattened.
dark purple to nearly black, globose, 5–10[–25] mm, glabrous;
hypanthium persistent;
mesocarps fleshy;
stones subglobose, not flattened.
= 16.
Prunus angustifolia
Prunus serotina
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.)
Varieties 4 (3 in the flora).
Variety capuli (Cavanilles) Hatusima [subsp. capuli (Cavanilles) McVaugh] is known from Mexico (Chiapas, Jalisco, Distrito Federal, México, Puebla), Central America, and South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela). It is distinguished from var. serotina by lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate leaves with decurrent bases (versus elliptic to obovate with obtuse to cuneate bases) and a long (to 2 cm), thin (1 mm) petiole; inflorescences tend to be subtended by 3 or 4 leaves [versus 2 (or 3), reduced in size], with a rachis relatively longer (greater than 15 cm), thicker, and flexuous compared to other varieties, and shorter pedicels (3–5 mm versus 5–10 mm, in var. serotina).
The characters given in the key usually allow easy separation of Prunus serotina from P. virginiana; some specimens from Arizona and southern Utah are difficult to determine. In that area, it is not uncommon for the sepals of P. virginiana flowers to lack the glandular teeth that are common elsewhere and thus mimic those of P. serotina. Variety rufula has thicker leaves that are also much shinier on both surfaces than those of P. virginiana and shorter petioles (2–15 mm versus 4–27 mm).
Compounding the confusion with chokecherry is a nomenclatural conundrum in which the epithet virginiana has been used for both chokecherry (the next species) and for black cherry (this species). The status of the two names Prunus serotina and P. virginiana was discussed by K. N. Gandhi et al. (2009), who proposed the conservation of both names.
Of our native Prunus species only P. serotina grows large enough to produce commercial lumber, which is highly prized for its fine grain and rich, warm, reddish brown color.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaf blades elliptic to obovate, abaxial surfaces sparsely hairy, apices usually obtuse, rounded, or emarginate, sometimes abruptly acute or short-acuminate. | var. alabamensis |
1. Leaf blades usually elliptic, lanceolate, or oblong, rarely obovate or ovate, abaxial surfaces glabrous or midribs hairy, apices acute to acuminate | → 2 |
2. Leaf blades 4–13.5 cm, membranous or slightly leathery; petioles (7–)10–23(–30) mm; e North America. | var. serotina |
2. Leaf blades 2–5.2(–7.4) cm, leathery; petioles (2–)4–10(–15) mm; Arizona to w Texas. | var. rufula |
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