Prunus subcordata
Prunus pumila
Klamath plum, Oregon plum, Pacific plum, Sierra or Klamath or Pacific plume, Sierra plum, western plum
cerisier des sables, dwarf sand plum, sand cherry
with axillary end buds, glabrous or hairy.
with terminal end buds, glabrous or sparsely to densely puberulent (var. susquehanae).
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 2–10(–13) mm, glabrous or hairy only when young, sometimes glandular distally or on margins at bases of blades, glands 1–2;
blade elliptic, oblanceolate, or obovate, 2.5–8 × 0.8–3 cm, base obtuse, cuneate, or long-attenuate, margins crenulate-serrulate to serrate in distal 1/2–2/3, teeth sharp or blunt, callus-tipped, sometimes glandular, apex short-acuminate to rounded, surfaces glabrous.
2–5-flowered, umbellate fascicles.
2–5-flowered, umbellate fascicles.
5–15 mm, glabrous or hairy.
3–19 mm, glabrous.
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.
blooming before leaf emergence;
hypanthium campanulate, 1.7–3 mm, glabrous externally;
sepals erect to reflexed, semicircular, 1.3–2.8 mm, margins glandular-toothed, surfaces glabrous;
petals white, oblanceolate, oblong, or suborbiculate, 3–9 mm;
ovaries glabrous.
usually red to reddish purple, sometimes yellow, globose to ellipsoid, 15–25 mm, usually glabrous, rarely puberulent;
mesocarps fleshy;
stones ovoid, ± flattened.
dark purple to nearly black, subglobose or broadly ellipsoid, 6–12 mm, glabrous;
mesocarps fleshy;
stones subglobose, ovoid, or fusiform, not flattened.
Prunus subcordata
Prunus pumila
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.)
Varieties 4 (4 in the flora).
Opinion has varied as to whether Prunus pumila is best treated as one variable species (for example, H. Groh and H. A. Senn 1940; H. A. Gleason 1952; J. R. Rohrer 2000) or as two, three, or four separate species (for example, W. F. Wight 1915; M. L. Fernald 1923b; P. M. Catling et al. 1999). The plants vary in stem posture, twig indument, leaf shape, fruit size and taste, pit size and shape, and ecologic preference. Even though the morphologic characters show almost continuous variation, four varieties are recognized here based largely on differences in ecologic habitat and geographic range.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Twigs densely puberulent (10× magnification); leaf apices usually obtuse, sometimes acute or rounded, blade lengths ca. 2.6 times widths; sandy pine-oak woods or barrens with open canopy, or adjacent fields and lakeshores. | var. susquehanae |
1. Twigs usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely puberulent; leaf apices short-acuminate, acute, or obtuse, blade lengths ca. 2.9–3.7 times widths; usually in open habitats | → 2 |
2. Stems prostrate to decumbent; leaf blades oblanceolate, lengths ca. 3.7 times widths; stones ovoid to fusiform, 4.5–5 mm wide. | var. depressa |
2. Stems usually erect-ascending, sometimes decumbent or sprawling; leaf blades elliptic, obovate, or oblanceolate, lengths ca. 2.9–3.3 times widths; stones subglobose to ovoid, 5–7 mm wide | → 3 |
3. Leaf blades usually oblanceolate, lengths ca. 3.3 times widths; shores of the Great Lakes on sandy, gravelly, or rocky beaches, dunes, and interdunal flats. | var. pumila |
3. Leaf blades elliptic, oblanceolate, or obovate, lengths ca. 2.9 times widths; sandy prairies, oak savannas, rock outcrops. | var. besseyi |
CA- Local floras:
OR - Local Web sites:
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
