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cherry plum, myrobalan, myrobalan plum, purple leaf plum

Texas almond

Habit Trees, sometimes suckering, 40–80 dm, not or slightly thorny. Shrubs, suckering, much branched, 10–20 dm, weakly thorny.
Twigs

with axillary end buds, glabrous.

with axillary end buds, canescent.

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 1–2(–6) mm, glabrous, eglandular;

blade elliptic or obovate, 0.5–1.6(–3.5) × 0.3–0.8(–2.1) cm, base cuneate, margins usually entire, sometimes irregularly serrulate (sometimes dentate on long shoots), teeth sharp to blunt, eglandular, some callus-tipped, apex usually obtuse to rounded, sometimes apiculate, surfaces glabrous.

Inflorescences

usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles.

solitary flowers.

Pedicels

(4–)10–18 mm, glabrous.

0–2 mm, puberulent.

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.

unisexual, plants dioecious, blooming at leaf emergence;

hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally;

sepals spreading, triangular, 0.7–1.5 mm, margins entire, surfaces glabrous;

petals white, obovate, 2–3.5 mm;

ovaries hairy.

Drupes

purple-red to yellow, sometimes glaucous, ovoid, ellipsoid, or globose, 15–30 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones ellipsoid to ovoid, ± to strongly flattened.

reddish brown, globose to ovoid, 9–12 mm, puberulent;

hypanthium tardily deciduous;

mesocarps leathery to dry (slightly splitting);

stones ovoid to subglobose, not flattened.

2n

= 16.

Prunus cerasifera

Prunus minutiflora

Phenology Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting Jun–Aug. Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting May–Jun.
Habitat Roadsides, stream banks, canyons, chaparral Dry rocky streambeds and uplands, limestone hills, ledges
Elevation 0–900 m (0–3000 ft) 100–700 m (300–2300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; MA; MD; NH; NY; OH; OR; PA; WA; BC; ON; se Europe [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Prunus minutiflora is a rare species limited to central Texas around the Edwards Plateau.

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

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 375. FNA vol. 9, p. 370.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus
Sibling taxa
P. americana, P. andersonii, P. angustifolia, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. caroliniana, 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. glandulosa, P. gracilis, P. havardii, P. hortulana, P. ilicifolia, P. laurocerasus, P. lusitanica, P. mahaleb, P. maritima, P. mexicana, 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
Name authority Ehrhart: Gartenkalender 4: 192. (1784) Engelmann ex A. Gray: Boston J. Nat. Hist. 6: 185. (1850)
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