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desert apricot

Cherokee plum, Chickasaw plum, Chickasaw plume, Florida sand plum, sandhill plum

Habit Shrubs, suckering unknown, much branched, 10–40 dm, thorny. Shrubs or trees, often suckering, 10–50 dm, thorny.
Twigs

with axillary end buds, glabrous.

with axillary end buds, glabrous.

Leaves

deciduous;

petiole 1–7 mm, glabrous, eglandular;

blade elliptic, ovate, or suborbiculate, 0.6–3 × 0.5–2 cm, base obtuse to rounded, subcordate, or truncate, margins obscurely crenulate, crenulate-serrulate, or serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex usually obtuse to rounded, sometimes emarginate, surfaces glabrous.

deciduous;

petiole 2–14 mm, usually sparsely hairy on adaxial surface, rarely glabrous or hairy on both surfaces, usually eglandular, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–2;

blade lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, usually folded along midribs, often ± falcate, 1.5–6 × 0.8–2 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins crenulate-serrulate, teeth blunt, glandular, glands reddish orange, conic, apex acute, abaxial surface glabrate with hairs along midribs and major veins, adaxial glabrous.

Inflorescences

1–3-flowered, umbellate fascicles.

2–4-flowered, umbellate fascicles.

Pedicels

2–12 mm, glabrous.

3–10 mm, glabrous.

Flowers

blooming at leaf emergence;

hypanthium campanulate, 2–4 mm, glabrous externally;

sepals erect-spreading, semicircular to ovate, 1.2–4 mm, margins glandular-toothed, ciliate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial hairy;

petals usually white, sometimes pinkish rose, elliptic, obovate, or suborbiculate, 3–10 mm;

ovaries hairy.

blooming before, sometimes at, leaf emergence;

hypanthium campanulate, 1.5–3 mm, usually glabrous, rarely hairy, externally;

sepals erect to spreading, ovate, 1–2 mm, margins entire, sparsely ciliate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial hairy;

petals white, suborbiculate to obovate, 3–6 mm;

ovaries glabrous.

Drupes

yellowish, ellipsoid-ovoid, 8–15 mm, densely puberulent;

mesocarps leathery to dry (splitting);

stones ovoid, ± flattened.

red to yellow, lightly glaucous, globose to ellipsoid, 15–20 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones ovoid, ± flattened.

2n

= 16.

Prunus fremontii

Prunus angustifolia

Phenology Flowering Jan–Mar; fruiting Apr–Jun. Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting May–Aug.
Habitat Dry, sandy or rocky slopes, canyons, desert, chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodlands Thickets, upland sandy soil, open woods, sand dunes, fence rows, pastures, roadsides, stream bottoms
Elevation 200–1500 m (700–4900 ft) 0–600 m (0–2000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CO; DC; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NE; NJ; NM; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Prunus fremontii is known only from the western edge of the Sonoran Desert.

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

A naturalized population of Prunus angustifolia in Santa Barbara County, California, has been extirpated.

Prunus angustifolia is one of the more distinctive plum species in North America. The leaves are relatively small, usually folded along their midribs, and have relatively large, reddish orange, conic glands along the margins. When it hybridizes with other plums, the hybrids often have distinctive characteristics and have been named as species more often than hybrids not involving P. angustifolia: P. ×orthosepala Koehne (angustifolia × americana), P. ×slavinii E. J. Palmer ex Rehder (angustifolia × gracilis), P. ×utahensis Koehne (angustifolia × pumila var. besseyi); see also discussion under 42. P. rivularis.

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

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 373. FNA vol. 9, p. 381.
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. fasciculata, 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. 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. texana, P. tomentosa, P. umbellata, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
Synonyms P. eriogyna P. angustifolia subsp. varians, P. angustifolia var. watsonii
Name authority S. Watson: in W. H. Brewer et al., Bot. California 2: 442. (1880) Marshall: Arbust. Amer., 111. (1785)
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