Prunus avium |
Prunus mahaleb |
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cerisier des oiseaux, sweet cherry, wild cherry |
Mahaleb cherry, Mahaleb or perfumed or St. Lucie cherry, perfumed cherry, St. Lucie cherry |
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Habit | Trees, not suckering, 60–200 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs or trees, not suckering, 30–150 dm, not thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with terminal end buds, densely puberulent. |
Leaves | deciduous; petiole (14–)20–40 mm, nearly glabrous or sparsely hairy adaxially, glandular distally or on margins at bases of blades, glands 1–3, discoid; blade oblong, elliptic-obovate, or obovate, (4–)7–14 × (2.5–)4–8.5 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins doubly crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex abruptly short-acuminate, abaxial surface moderately hairy (especially midribs and veins), adaxial glabrous. |
deciduous; petiole 4–20 mm, glabrous or ± puberulent on adaxial surface, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–2, discoid; blade broadly ovate, oblong, or suborbiculate, 1.9–4.5 × 1.2–3.4 cm, base usually rounded to truncate, sometimes subcordate, margins crenate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex abruptly acuminate, apicula obtuse, surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes midribs and veins hairy abaxially. |
Inflorescences | 1–3-flowered, umbellate fascicles. |
4–10-flowered, corymbs; central axes 8–40 mm. |
Pedicels | (14–)25–52 mm, glabrous. |
6–18 mm (subtended by leafy bracts), glabrous. |
Flowers | blooming at leaf emergence; hypanthium tubular-urceolate, 5–7 mm, glabrous externally; sepals reflexed, oblong, 4–6 mm, margins entire or sparsely and irregularly toothed, surfaces glabrous; petals white, obovate to suborbiculate, 12–15 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
blooming at leaf emergence; hypanthium conic-campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals reflexed, oblong, 1.3–2 mm, margins entire, surfaces glabrous; petals white, elliptic to obovate, 6–7 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | dark red to purplish black, globose, 13–30 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones subglobose, not flattened. |
dark red to black, ovoid, 6–10 mm, glabrous; mesocarps leathery; stones ellipsoid to subglobose, ± flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Prunus avium |
Prunus mahaleb |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–May; fruiting Jun–Jul. | Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Jun–Jul. |
Habitat | Roadsides, stream banks, forest edges, disturbed forests | Roadsides, stream banks, limestone bluffs and quarries, lowland thickets and woods, fencerows, chaparral |
Elevation | 0–1600 m (0–5200 ft) | 0–2300 m (0–7500 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CT; DC; DE; ID; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; UT; VA; WA; WV; WY; BC; NB; NS; ON; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
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AL; AR; CA; CT; DC; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; MI; MO; MT; NC; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; TN; UT; VA; WA; WV; BC; ON; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
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Discussion | Cultivars of Prunus avium are grown in North America both for their attractive flowers, especially where the Japanese ornamental cherries are not hardy, and for their sweet fruits. Most of the sweet cherry crop in North America is grown in the Pacific Coast states and in Michigan and Ontario. Most varieties are self-incompatible and require pollen from a variety in a different incompatibility group in order to set fruits. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Prunus mahaleb was introduced to North America as a rootstock for commercial cherries and is now sometimes cultivated for its attractive and fragrant flowers. At one time, the aromatic wood was a favorite for tobacco pipes. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 368. | FNA vol. 9, p. 366. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. cerasus var. avium | |
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Linnaeus: Fl. Suec. ed. 2, 165. (1755) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 474. (1753) |
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