Prunus persica
Prunus serotina
peach, pêcher, unknown
black cherry, black chokecherry, cerisier tardif ou d'automne, merisier, rum cherry
with terminal end buds, glabrous.
with terminal end buds, glabrous or hairy.
deciduous;
petiole 5–10(–15) mm, not winged, glabrous, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–4, discoid;
blade oblong to lanceolate, folded along midribs, often falcate, (5–)7–15 × 2–4.5 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins crenulate-serrulate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrous.
deciduous;
petiole 2–23(–30) mm, glabrous or sparsely to densely hairy, usually glandular distally or at petiole-blade junction, glands 1–6;
blade usually narrowly elliptic, oblong-elliptic, or obovate, sometimes lanceolate, rarely ovate, 2–13.5 × 1.1–6.5 cm, base cuneate to rounded, margins crenulate-serrulate to serrate, teeth incurved or appressed, sharp or blunt, glandular or callus-tipped, apex usually acute to acuminate, sometimes obtuse, rounded to emarginate in var. alabamensis, lateral veins 15–30 per side, flush abaxially, abaxial surface usually densely hairy along midribs proximally, sometimes glabrous or sparsely hairy, adaxial glabrous.
usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles.
18–55(–90)-flowered, racemes;
central axes (25–)35–160 mm, leafy at bases.
0–3 mm, glabrous.
1–10 mm, glabrous or hairy.
blooming before leaf emergence;
hypanthium cupulate, 4–5 mm, glabrous externally;
sepals spreading, oblong-ovate, 3.5–5 mm, margins entire, ciliate, abaxial surface hairy (especially along margins), adaxial glabrous;
petals dark pink, obovate to suborbiculate, 10–17 mm;
ovaries hairy.
blooming after leaf emergence;
hypanthium cupulate, 1.5–3 mm, glabrous externally;
sepals erect-spreading to reflexed, semicircular, 0.5–1.5 mm, margins usually entire, rarely glandular-toothed, rarely ciliate, surfaces glabrous;
petals white, obovate to suborbiculate, 2–4 mm;
ovaries glabrous.
yellow to orange tinged with red, globose, 40–80 mm, velutinous (glabrous in nectarines);
mesocarps fleshy;
stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, deeply pitted, furrowed.
dark purple to nearly black, globose, 5–10[–25] mm, glabrous;
hypanthium persistent;
mesocarps fleshy;
stones subglobose, not flattened.
= 16.
Prunus persica
Prunus serotina
Peaches are cultivated throughout much of North America. Commercial production is diffuse, occurring in over half of the lower 48 states as well as in southern British Columbia and southern Ontario. Freestone peaches for fresh eating come largely from California, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina; most clingstones are used for canning and are grown in California. Nectarines are a variety with hairless skin. The fruits are popular on picnics, and peach saplings are commonly encountered anywhere pits are discarded. Escapes are usually short-lived; some escapes form naturalized populations. Double-flowered cultivars are used ornamentally.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Varieties 4 (3 in the flora).
Variety capuli (Cavanilles) Hatusima [subsp. capuli (Cavanilles) McVaugh] is known from Mexico (Chiapas, Jalisco, Distrito Federal, México, Puebla), Central America, and South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela). It is distinguished from var. serotina by lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate leaves with decurrent bases (versus elliptic to obovate with obtuse to cuneate bases) and a long (to 2 cm), thin (1 mm) petiole; inflorescences tend to be subtended by 3 or 4 leaves [versus 2 (or 3), reduced in size], with a rachis relatively longer (greater than 15 cm), thicker, and flexuous compared to other varieties, and shorter pedicels (3–5 mm versus 5–10 mm, in var. serotina).
The characters given in the key usually allow easy separation of Prunus serotina from P. virginiana; some specimens from Arizona and southern Utah are difficult to determine. In that area, it is not uncommon for the sepals of P. virginiana flowers to lack the glandular teeth that are common elsewhere and thus mimic those of P. serotina. Variety rufula has thicker leaves that are also much shinier on both surfaces than those of P. virginiana and shorter petioles (2–15 mm versus 4–27 mm).
Compounding the confusion with chokecherry is a nomenclatural conundrum in which the epithet virginiana has been used for both chokecherry (the next species) and for black cherry (this species). The status of the two names Prunus serotina and P. virginiana was discussed by K. N. Gandhi et al. (2009), who proposed the conservation of both names.
Of our native Prunus species only P. serotina grows large enough to produce commercial lumber, which is highly prized for its fine grain and rich, warm, reddish brown color.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaf blades elliptic to obovate, abaxial surfaces sparsely hairy, apices usually obtuse, rounded, or emarginate, sometimes abruptly acute or short-acuminate. | var. alabamensis |
1. Leaf blades usually elliptic, lanceolate, or oblong, rarely obovate or ovate, abaxial surfaces glabrous or midribs hairy, apices acute to acuminate | → 2 |
2. Leaf blades 4–13.5 cm, membranous or slightly leathery; petioles (7–)10–23(–30) mm; e North America. | var. serotina |
2. Leaf blades 2–5.2(–7.4) cm, leathery; petioles (2–)4–10(–15) mm; Arizona to w Texas. | var. rufula |
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
- Local floras: BC, OR
- Local Web sites: Flora NW, Go Botany, IL Wildflowers, KS Wildflowers, LA Plants, MD Biodiversity, MI Flora,
MN Wildflowers, MO Plants, PNW Herbaria - WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
