The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Klamath plum, Oregon plum, Pacific plum, Sierra or Klamath or Pacific plume, Sierra plum, western plum

Havard's almond, Havard's plum

Habit Shrubs or trees, often suckering, 10–30(–60) dm, sometimes thorny. Shrubs, suckering unknown, much branched, 10–20 dm, thorny.
Twigs

with axillary end buds, glabrous or hairy.

with axillary end buds, puberulent.

Leaves

deciduous;

petiole 4–18 mm, glabrous or hairy, usually glandular distally, glands 1–3, discoid;

blade elliptic, oblong-ovate, or suborbiculate, 2–5(–6.5) × 1.3–3.5(–4.5) cm, base rounded or subcordate, margins singly to doubly serrulate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex usually obtuse to rounded, rarely acute, abaxial surface glabrous or hairy, adaxial glabrous or appressed-hairy.

deciduous;

petiole 1–3 mm, glabrous or puberulent, eglandular;

blade rhombic, obovate, or fan-shaped, 0.5–1.6(–2) × 0.2–0.8(–1.4) cm, base broadly obtuse or rounded to nearly truncate, margins serrate or dentate in distal 1/2, teeth blunt to sharp, some callus-tipped, rarely glandular, apex rounded to obtuse, surfaces puberulent.

Inflorescences

2–5-flowered, umbellate fascicles.

solitary flowers.

Pedicels

5–15 mm, glabrous or hairy.

0 mm.

Flowers

blooming at leaf emergence;

hypanthium campanulate, 2–3.5 mm, glabrous or hairy externally;

sepals broadly spreading to reflexed, obovate, 2.2–4(–5) mm, margins glandular-toothed, sometimes obscurely so, sometimes ciliate, surfaces glabrous or hairy;

petals white, oblong-obovate, 5–10 mm;

ovaries usually glabrous, rarely hairy.

unisexual, plants dioecious, blooming at leaf emergence;

hypanthium campanulate, 2.5–3 mm, glabrous externally;

sepals spreading to reflexed, triangular, 0.7–1 mm, margins entire, sparsely ciliate, surfaces glabrate;

petals white, obovate, 2 mm;

ovaries hairy.

Drupes

usually red to reddish purple, sometimes yellow, globose to ellipsoid, 15–25 mm, usually glabrous, rarely puberulent;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones ovoid, ± flattened.

reddish brown, ovoid, 8–11 mm, puberulent;

hypanthium tardily deciduous;

mesocarps leathery to dry (splitting);

stones ovoid, slightly flattened.

Prunus subcordata

Prunus havardii

Phenology Flowering Mar–May; fruiting Aug–Sep. Flowering Apr–Jun; fruiting Jun–Aug.
Habitat Stream banks, dry rocky slopes, chaparral, pine-oak and juniper-oak woodlands Draws, dry rocky slopes of canyons, limestone soil, igneous rock
Elevation 100–1900 m (300–6200 ft) 700–1700 m (2300–5600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX; Mexico (Chihuahua)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Prunus subcordata shows variation in color, size, indument, and palatability of fruits, which has been the basis for recognition of taxonomic segregates. Variety kelloggii was described as a larger plant with less hairy foliage than in typical P. subcordata, and its fruits are yellow, larger, sweeter, and more pulpy. Variety rubicunda is a smaller shrub with bright red, bitter fruits. Most noteworthy is var. oregana with densely hairy ovaries and puberulent fruits, recorded only from the sparsely inhabited border region between northeastern California and adjacent Oregon. Specimens in herbaria are few and recent collections are lacking. The assignment of P. texana with hairy fruits to the plums (J. Shaw and R. L. Small 2005) makes this variant all the more interesting. Field study and collection followed by morphologic, genetic, and molecular study are needed to clarify its systematic position and significance.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Prunus havardii is endemic to the Chihuahuan Desert of trans-Pecos Texas and across the Rio Grande in Mexico, with most collections from the Big Bend area.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 377. FNA vol. 9, p. 371.
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. 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. 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. 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
Synonyms P. subcordata var. kelloggii, P. subcordata var. oregana, P. subcordata var. rubicunda Amygdalus havardii
Name authority Bentham: Pl. Hartw., 308. (1849) (W. Wight) S. C. Mason: J. Agric. Res. 1: 153, 176. (1913)
Web links