Prunus cerasifera |
Prunus tomentosa |
|
---|---|---|
cherry plum, myrobalan, myrobalan plum, purple leaf plum |
Manchu cherry, Nanking cherry |
|
Habit | Trees, sometimes suckering, 40–80 dm, not or slightly thorny. | Shrubs, not suckering, 10–20 dm, not thorny. |
Twigs | with axillary end buds, glabrous. |
with terminal end buds, densely hairy. |
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 2–7 mm, hairy, eglandular; blade obovate to oblong-elliptic, 3–6(–7.5) × 1.7–3.5(–4.7) cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins coarsely, singly to doubly serrate, teeth sharp, usually eglandular, sometimes glandular, glands dark, spheric, apex abruptly short-acuminate to acute, abaxial surface tomentose, adaxial rugose, hairy, sometimes sparsely so. |
Inflorescences | usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles. |
usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles. |
Pedicels | (4–)10–18 mm, glabrous. |
0–5 mm, hairy. |
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 tubular, 3.5–6 mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy (especially at bases) externally; sepals spreading, ovate, 2.5–3.5 mm, margins serrate, sometimes glandular, abaxial surface hairy, adaxial glabrous; petals white to pale pink (pink in bud), obovate or elliptic to suborbiculate, 9–13 mm; ovaries glabrous proximally, villous distally. |
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, globose, 8–15 mm, sparsely hairy; mesocarps fleshy; stones ellipsoid, not flattened. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Prunus cerasifera |
Prunus tomentosa |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting Jun–Aug. | Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Jun–Jul. |
Habitat | Roadsides, stream banks, canyons, chaparral | Roadsides, fencerows, vacant lots, riparian woods |
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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IA; IL; MD; MI; MN; NE; NY; OH; PA; SD; UT; MB; ON; SK; Asia [Introduced in North America] |
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 tomentosa is cultivated as a landscape plant in hedges and as a background shrub because of its spreading habit and pale pink to white petals. It produces edible fruits that are said to make excellent jelly and juice. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 375. | FNA vol. 9, p. 372. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Ehrhart: Gartenkalender 4: 192. (1784) | Thunberg: in J. A. Murray, Syst. Veg. ed. 14, 464. (1784) |
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