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desert almond, desert peach, wild almond

common garden plum, cultivated plum, European plum, prunier damas

Habit Shrubs, suckering, much branched, 10–20(–30) dm, thorny. Shrubs or trees, sometimes suckering, 20–60(–100) dm, not or slightly thorny.
Twigs

with axillary end buds, glabrous or canescent.

with axillary end buds, usually hairy, sometimes glabrous.

Leaves

deciduous;

sessile;

blade oblanceolate to linear, 0.5–2 × 0.1–0.2(–0.4) cm, base long-attenuate, margins nearly entire or obscurely and remotely serrulate in distal 1/3, teeth blunt to sharp, sometimes glandular, apex rounded to acute, surfaces puberulent or glabrous or low-papillate (var. punctata).

deciduous;

petiole 6–20 mm, glabrous or hairy on adaxial surface or both surfaces, eglandular or glandular distally or on margins at bases of blades, glands 1–3;

blade elliptic to obovate, (2.5–)4–7(–9) × 1.5–5 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins singly to doubly crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex usually acute to abruptly acuminate, sometimes obtuse, abaxial surface hairy (especially along veins), adaxial glabrous or midribs hairy.

Inflorescences

solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles.

solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles.

Pedicels

0–4 mm, glabrous.

(2–)10–20 mm, glabrous or hairy.

Flowers

unisexual, plants dioecious, blooming at leaf emergence;

hypanthium campanulate, 1.5–3 mm, glabrous externally;

sepals erect-spreading, triangular, 0.7–1 mm, margins entire, surfaces glabrous;

petals white to yellowish, elliptic, obovate, or suborbiculate, 1.4–2.5(–4) mm;

ovaries hairy.

blooming before or at leaf emergence;

hypanthium cupulate, 3–5 mm, glabrous externally;

sepals spreading to reflexed, ovate-elliptic to lanceolate, 3.5–6 mm, margins glandular-toothed, ciliate, surfaces glabrous or hairy;

petals white, oblong to suborbiculate, 7–14 mm;

ovaries glabrous.

Drupes

gray to red-brown, ovoid, ± compressed, 7–15 mm, densely puberulent;

hypanthium tardily deciduous;

mesocarps leathery to dry;

stones ovoid, ± flattened.

blue-black (green, yellow, or red in cultivars), ellipsoid to globose, 15–35 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones ovoid to ellipsoid, strongly flattened.

2n

= 48.

Prunus fasciculata

Prunus domestica

Phenology Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Aug–Sep.
Habitat Roadsides, fencerows, abandoned homesites
Elevation 0–1500 m (0–4900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; UT; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; CT; DE; ID; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; NH; NJ; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; UT; VA; VT; WA; NB; NS; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

The distinctions given in the literature between Prunus domestica and P. insititia, and which cultivated varieties are derived from each of them, are contradictory and confusing. After examining plants from North America, it seems best to treat these Eurasian introductions as one variable species without designation of infraspecific taxa.

European plums are grown along the West Coast, primarily in California, for prunes and other processed food. They are also grown in the Great Lakes region of Ontario, Michigan, and New York for both prunes and the local fresh market. Most of the commercial fresh plum market is supplied by fruits of the Japanese plum, Prunus salicina, and its hybrid derivatives, which include genetic material from native American species, for example, P. americana, P. angustifolia, and P. hortulana.

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

Key
1. Leaf blades sparsely to densely puberulent, not papillate.
var. fasciculata
1. Leaf blades glabrous, sometimes papillate.
var. punctata
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 370. FNA vol. 9, p. 376.
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. cerasus, P. domestica, P. dulcis, P. emarginata, P. eremophila, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
P. fasciculata var. fasciculata, P. fasciculata var. punctata
Synonyms Emplectocladus fasciculatus P. domestica subsp. insititia, P. domestica var. insititia, P. insititia
Name authority (Torrey) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10: 70. (1874) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 475. (1753)
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