Flora of North America species comparison

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Prunus spinosa

Rosaceae tribe Amygdaleae

blackthorn, blackthorn plum, sloe, sloe cherry
Habit Shrubs, suckering, 10–40 dm, thorny. Shrubs or trees; sometimes armed.
Twigs

with axillary end buds, hairy.

Leaves

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.

alternate, simple;

stipules deciduous, free;

venation pinnate.
Inflorescences

usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles.

Pedicels

0.5–5(–8) mm, usually glabrous, rarely hairy.

Flowers

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.

perianth and androecium perigynous;

epicalyx bractlets absent;

hypanthium cup-shaped, obconic, campanulate, or tubular;

torus absent;

carpel 1, distinct, free, style terminal, distinct;

ovules 2 (1 abortive), apical, collateral (obturator present).
Fruits

drupes;

styles deciduous, not elongate.
Drupes

bluish black, globose, 10–15 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones subglobose, ± flattened.

2n

= 32.

Prunus spinosa

Rosaceae tribe Amygdaleae
Phenology Flowering Mar–May; fruiting Aug–Sep.
Habitat Roadsides
Elevation 0–1000 m (0–3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; ID; MA; ME; MI; NY; OR; WA; BC; NS; ON; Eurasia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
North America; Mexico; Central America; South America; Eurasia; Africa; Australia [Widely introduced]
Discussion

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.)

Genus 1, species 200+ (44 in the flora).

The base chromosome number for Amygdaleae is x = 8.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 376. FNA vol. 9, p. 352. Author: Luc Brouillet.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae
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. 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. subcordata, P. subhirtella, P. texana, P. tomentosa, P. umbellata, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
Subordinate taxa
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 475. (1753) de Candolle: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 2: 529. (1825)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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