Prunus spinosa
Prunus texana
blackthorn, blackthorn plum, sloe, sloe cherry
peachbush, Texas wild peach
with axillary end buds, hairy.
with axillary end buds, tomentose.
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.
deciduous;
petiole 1–4 mm, tomentose, eglandular;
blade elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 1.1–4 × 0.4–1.1 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins dentate, teeth blunt, glandular, glands discoid, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded, abaxial surface hairy to canescent, adaxial hairy.
usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles.
solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles.
0.5–5(–8) mm, usually glabrous, rarely hairy.
1–5 mm, tomentose.
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.
blooming before or at leaf emergence;
hypanthium campanulate, 2 mm, tomentose externally;
sepals reflexed, triangular, 1–1.7 mm, margins glandular-toothed, surfaces tomentose;
petals white, elliptic, 3–5 mm;
ovaries hairy.
bluish black, globose, 10–15 mm, glabrous;
mesocarps fleshy;
stones subglobose, ± flattened.
usually yellow to greenish yellow, sometimes tinged with red, ovoid, compressed, 8–15 mm, velutinous;
hypanthium tardily deciduous;
mesocarps fleshy;
stones ovoid, ± flattened.
= 32.
Prunus spinosa
Prunus texana
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.)
Prunus texana is endemic to south-central Texas from the Edwards Plateau southeast to the coastal plain.
Despite the peachlike fruits of Prunus texana, DNA evidence supports its placement among the native American plums (J. Shaw and R. L. Small 2005). The leaf margins look like those of no other North American species of Prunus. The teeth project perpendicular to the margins and are capped with disc-shaped glands.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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