Prunus cerasifera |
Prunus hortulana |
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cherry plum, myrobalan, myrobalan plum, purple leaf plum |
Hortulan or wild goose plum, Hortulan plum |
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Habit | Trees, sometimes suckering, 40–80 dm, not or slightly thorny. | Trees, rarely suckering, 40–100 dm, moderately thorny. |
Twigs | with axillary end buds, glabrous. |
with axillary end buds, glabrous. |
Leaves | deciduous; petiole 5–20 mm, glabrous except for a few hairs on adaxial surface, eglandular; blade ovate, elliptic, or obovate, 3–7 × 1.5–3.5 cm, base obtuse, margins singly to doubly crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex obtuse to acute, abaxial surface hairy along midribs and veins, adaxial glabrous. |
deciduous; petiole 6–20 mm, hairy on adaxial surface, usually glandular distally, glands 1–5; blade narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, oblanceolate, or oblong-obovate, (5–)7–11(–13) × (2–)3–5.5 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins singly to doubly crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, glands inconspicuous, blackish, apex long-acuminate, abaxial surface ± hairy along midribs and veins, adaxial glabrous or with hairs along midribs. |
Inflorescences | usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles. |
2–4-flowered, umbellate fascicles. |
Pedicels | (4–)10–18 mm, glabrous. |
8–20 mm, glabrous. |
Flowers | blooming before leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–4 mm, glabrous externally; sepals reflexed to spreading, oblong-ovate, 2–4 mm, margins glandular-toothed to nearly entire, eciliate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial hairy at bases; petals white (reddish pink in cultivars), elliptic to suborbiculate, 7–14 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
blooming before or at leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals erect to reflexed, ovate, 1.5–3 mm, margins glandular-toothed, abaxial surface glabrous or sparsely hairy, adaxial densely hairy at bases; petals white, obovate, 4–9 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | purple-red to yellow, sometimes glaucous, ovoid, ellipsoid, or globose, 15–30 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones ellipsoid to ovoid, ± to strongly flattened. |
red to yellowish with white dots, not or only slightly glaucous, globose, 20–30(–40) mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones ovoid-ellipsoid, ± flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Prunus cerasifera |
Prunus hortulana |
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Phenology | Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting Jun–Aug. | Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Aug–Sep. |
Habitat | Roadsides, stream banks, canyons, chaparral | Roadside thickets, flood plains, open woodlands |
Elevation | 0–900 m (0–3000 ft) | 50–500 m (200–1600 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; ID; MA; MD; NH; NY; OH; OR; PA; WA; BC; ON; se Europe [Introduced in North America]
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AR; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MI; MO; NE; OH; OK; TN; VA; WV
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Discussion | The purple-leaved, pink-flowered cultivars of Prunus cerasifera are especially popular for ornamental use. The earliest purple form was introduced into European gardens about 1880 by M. Pissard, gardener to the Shah of Iran. Prunus cerasifera is widely used as a rootstock for commercial plums. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 375. | FNA vol. 9, p. 382. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. hortulana var. mineri | |
Name authority | Ehrhart: Gartenkalender 4: 192. (1784) | L. H. Bailey: Gard. & Forest 5: 90. (1892) |
Web links |
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