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cerisier acide, cultivated sour cherry, pie cherry, sour cherry

Texas almond

Habit Shrubs or trees, suckering, 30–50(–80) dm, not thorny. Shrubs, suckering, much branched, 10–20 dm, weakly thorny.
Twigs

with terminal end buds, glabrous.

with axillary end buds, canescent.

Leaves

deciduous;

petiole 10–24 mm, glabrous, usually eglandular, sometimes with discoid marginal glands at bases of blades;

blade broadly elliptic to ovate or obovate, 4.4–6(–8) × 2.8–4(–6) cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins doubly crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex acute to abruptly acuminate, abaxial surface glabrous or glabrate, 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

1–4-flowered, umbellate fascicles.

solitary flowers.

Pedicels

8–37 mm, glabrous.

0–2 mm, puberulent.

Flowers

blooming at leaf emergence;

hypanthium tubular-campanulate, 4–6 mm, glabrous externally;

sepals reflexed, oblong, 4–7 mm, margins regularly glandular-toothed, surfaces glabrous;

petals white, suborbiculate, 10–14 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

bright red, globose, 13–20 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones subglobose, not 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

= 32.

Prunus cerasus

Prunus minutiflora

Phenology Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Jun–Jul. Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting May–Jun.
Habitat Roadsides, thickets, woodland borders, abandoned fields Dry rocky streambeds and uplands, limestone hills, ledges
Elevation 0–1000 m (0–3300 ft) 100–700 m (300–2300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MT; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; VA; VT; WA; WV; BC; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Cultivars of Prunus cerasus with doubled flowers are used as landscape ornamentals. Most of the commercial sour cherry crop in North America comes from Michigan. Unlike sweet cherry, all widely grown varieties of sour cherry are self-fertile. Bud scales at the bases of the pedicels on flowering and immature fruiting specimens of P. cerasus often have leaflike apices and the inner scales are erect; in P. avium the scales are not leaflike and the inner ones are reflexed or spreading.

(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. 368. 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. cerasifera, 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 Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 474. (1753) Engelmann ex A. Gray: Boston J. Nat. Hist. 6: 185. (1850)
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