Prunus fremontii |
Prunus spinosa |
|
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desert apricot |
blackthorn, blackthorn plum, sloe, sloe cherry |
|
Habit | Shrubs, suckering unknown, much branched, 10–40 dm, thorny. | Shrubs, suckering, 10–40 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 4–7 mm, hairy, eglandular; blade elliptic to obovate, 1.5–4 × 1–2.2 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins crenulate-serrulate, teeth blunt, often glandular, apex acute to obtuse, abaxial surface hairy (especially along midribs and veins), adaxial glabrate. |
Inflorescences | 1–3-flowered, umbellate fascicles. |
usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles. |
Pedicels | 2–12 mm, glabrous. |
0.5–5(–8) mm, usually glabrous, rarely 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 before leaf emergence; hypanthium cupulate, 1.5–2.5 mm, glabrous externally; sepals spreading, oblong, 1.5–2.5 mm, margins glandular-toothed, surfaces glabrous or adaxially hairy at bases; petals white, elliptic, 4–8 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | yellowish, ellipsoid-ovoid, 8–15 mm, densely puberulent; mesocarps leathery to dry (splitting); stones ovoid, ± flattened. |
bluish black, globose, 10–15 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones subglobose, ± flattened. |
2n | = 32. |
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Prunus fremontii |
Prunus spinosa |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jan–Mar; fruiting Apr–Jun. | Flowering Mar–May; fruiting Aug–Sep. |
Habitat | Dry, sandy or rocky slopes, canyons, desert, chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodlands | Roadsides |
Elevation | 200–1500 m (700–4900 ft) | 0–1000 m (0–3300 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
|
CT; ID; MA; ME; MI; NY; OR; WA; BC; NS; ON; Eurasia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
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Discussion | Prunus fremontii is known only from the western edge of the Sonoran Desert. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
As past flora writers (C. L. Hitchcock et al. 1955–1969; E. G. Voss 1972–1996) have noted, the distinctions between Prunus spinosa and P. domestica are not clear. Some researchers consider the hexaploid P. domestica to have been derived from the tetraploid P. spinosa, often in a scenario involving hybridization with P. cerasifera. It should not be surprising that some of the characters used in keys to separate these three taxa (spininess, indument, leaf size, pedicel length, numbers of flowers per bud) are subject to variation within each species and overlap among the species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 373. | FNA vol. 9, p. 376. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. eriogyna | |
Name authority | S. Watson: in W. H. Brewer et al., Bot. California 2: 442. (1880) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 475. (1753) |
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