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cherry plum, myrobalan, myrobalan plum, purple leaf plum

peachbush, Texas wild peach

Habit Trees, sometimes suckering, 40–80 dm, not or slightly thorny. Shrubs, sometimes suckering, much branched, 5–15 dm, sometimes weakly thorny.
Twigs

with axillary end buds, glabrous.

with axillary end buds, tomentose.

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 1–4 mm, tomentose, eglandular;

blade elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 1.1–4 × 0.4–1.1 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins dentate, teeth blunt, glandular, glands discoid, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded, abaxial surface hairy to canescent, adaxial hairy.

Inflorescences

usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles.

solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles.

Pedicels

(4–)10–18 mm, glabrous.

1–5 mm, tomentose.

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 mm, tomentose externally;

sepals reflexed, triangular, 1–1.7 mm, margins glandular-toothed, surfaces tomentose;

petals white, elliptic, 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.

usually yellow to greenish yellow, sometimes tinged with red, ovoid, compressed, 8–15 mm, velutinous;

hypanthium tardily deciduous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones ovoid, ± flattened.

2n

= 16.

Prunus cerasifera

Prunus texana

Phenology Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting Jun–Aug. Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Apr–Jun.
Habitat Roadsides, stream banks, canyons, chaparral Deep sand, plains and sand hills, grasslands, oak woods
Elevation 0–900 m (0–3000 ft) 0–200 m (0–700 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 texana is endemic to south-central Texas from the Edwards Plateau southeast to the coastal plain.

Despite the peachlike fruits of Prunus texana, DNA evidence supports its placement among the native American plums (J. Shaw and R. L. Small 2005). The leaf margins look like those of no other North American species of Prunus. The teeth project perpendicular to the margins and are capped with disc-shaped glands.

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

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 375. 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. 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. 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. tomentosa, P. umbellata, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
Synonyms Amygdalus glandulosa
Name authority Ehrhart: Gartenkalender 4: 192. (1784) D. Dietrich: Syn. Pl. 3: 45. (1842) — not Prunus glandulosa Thunberg 1784
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