Prunus fremontii |
Prunus murrayana |
|
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desert apricot |
Murray's plum, Murray's plume |
|
Habit | Shrubs, suckering unknown, much branched, 10–40 dm, thorny. | Shrubs, usually suckering, 5–30(–50) dm, ± thorny. |
Twigs | with axillary end buds, glabrous. |
with axillary end buds, hairy. |
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 8–16 mm, usually hairy on both surfaces, sometimes only on adaxial surface, usually glandular distally, glands 1–4; blade lanceolate to elliptic or ovate, usually folded along midribs, 3.5–7.5 × 1.5–3.5 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins singly to doubly crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex usually acuminate, sometimes acute, abaxial surface glabrous or ± hairy along midribs and veins, adaxial glabrous. |
Inflorescences | 1–3-flowered, umbellate fascicles. |
1–4-flowered, umbellate fascicles. |
Pedicels | 2–12 mm, glabrous. |
4–14 mm, hairy. |
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 at leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–2.5 mm, hairy externally; sepals erect to reflexed, ovate, 1.5–2 mm, margins glandular-toothed, abaxial surface glabrate or hairy, adaxial densely hairy at bases; petals white, obovate, 4–8 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | yellowish, ellipsoid-ovoid, 8–15 mm, densely puberulent; mesocarps leathery to dry (splitting); stones ovoid, ± flattened. |
red with white dots, slightly to quite glaucous, globose, 10–18 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones ovoid, ± flattened. |
Prunus fremontii |
Prunus murrayana |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jan–Mar; fruiting Apr–Jun. | Flowering Mar–Apr; fruiting Jul–Aug. |
Habitat | Dry, sandy or rocky slopes, canyons, desert, chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodlands | Rocky stream banks, canyons, dry washes, fence rows |
Elevation | 200–1500 m (700–4900 ft) | 500–1500 m (1600–4900 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
|
TX |
Discussion | Prunus fremontii is known only from the western edge of the Sonoran Desert. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Prunus murrayana was long known only from trans-Pecos Texas. M. F. Enquist (1997) expanded the range by recognizing the similarity of these plants to plants from the Edwards Plateau, which he described as a hairy variety of P. rivularis and placed P. murrayana in synonymy. Sequence analysis of DNA from some of the same hairy plants collected by Enquist indicate that these plants are distinct from P. rivularis and are most similar to P. hortulana (J. R. Rohrer et al. 2008). Prunus murrayana is a smaller plant than P. hortulana, with smaller leaves and fruits. Also, P. murrayana suckers to form shrubby thickets; P. hortulana generally forms single trees. The twigs, pedicels, and hypanthium exteriors are hairy in P. murrayana and glabrous in P. hortulana. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 373. | FNA vol. 9, p. 382. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. eriogyna | P. rivularis var. pubescens |
Name authority | S. Watson: in W. H. Brewer et al., Bot. California 2: 442. (1880) | E. J. Palmer: J. Arnold Arbor. 10: 38. (1929) |
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