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desert apricot

Yoshino cherry

Habit Shrubs, suckering unknown, much branched, 10–40 dm, thorny. Trees, not suckering, 40–80(–160) dm, not thorny.
Twigs

with axillary end buds, glabrous.

with terminal end buds, sparsely 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 10–20 mm, hairy, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–2;

blade elliptic-ovate to obovate, 5–12 × 2.5–7 cm, base rounded, margins doubly serrate, teeth aristate, glandular, apex acuminate, abaxial surface hairy along midribs and veins, adaxial glabrous.

Inflorescences

1–3-flowered, umbellate fascicles.

2–6-flowered, corymbs;

central axes 4–8(–20) mm.

Pedicels

2–12 mm, glabrous.

15–25 mm (subtended by leafy bracts), 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 tubular, 7–8 mm, hairy externally;

sepals spreading, ovate-lanceolate, 4–5 mm, margins glandular-toothed, abaxial surface hairy, adaxial sparsely hairy;

petals white or pink, broadly elliptic to obovate, 13–15 mm;

ovaries glabrous.

Drupes

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

mesocarps leathery to dry (splitting);

stones ovoid, ± flattened.

black, subglobose, 7–12 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones ellipsoid, not flattened.

2n

= 16 (Japan).

Prunus fremontii

Prunus yedoensis

Phenology Flowering Jan–Mar; fruiting Apr–Jun. Flowering Mar–Apr; fruiting May.
Habitat Dry, sandy or rocky slopes, canyons, desert, chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodlands Abandoned plantings, disturbed sites
Elevation 200–1500 m (700–4900 ft) 0–200 m (0–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; DC; WA; e Asia (Japan) [Introduced in North America]
[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.)

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 373. FNA vol. 9, p. 369.
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. 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. 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
Synonyms P. eriogyna
Name authority S. Watson: in W. H. Brewer et al., Bot. California 2: 442. (1880) Matsumura: Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 15: 100. (1901)
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