Prunus cerasifera

Ehrhart

Gartenkalender 4: 192. 1784.

Common names: Cherry plum myrobalan
Introduced
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 9. Treatment on page 375. Mentioned on page 358, 360, 376.

Trees, sometimes suckering, 40–80 dm, not or slightly thorny. Twigs with axillary end buds, glabrous. Leaves deciduous; petiole 5–20 mm, glabrous except for a few hairs on adaxial surface, eglandular; blade ovate, elliptic, or obovate, 3–7 × 1.5–3.5 cm, base obtuse, margins singly to doubly crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex obtuse to acute, abaxial surface hairy along midribs and veins, adaxial glabrous. Inflorescences usually solitary flowers, sometimes 2-flowered fascicles. Pedicels (4–) 10–18 mm, glabrous. Flowers blooming before leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–4 mm, glabrous externally; sepals reflexed to spreading, oblong-ovate, 2–4 mm, margins glandular-toothed to nearly entire, eciliate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial hairy at bases; petals white (reddish-pink in cultivars), elliptic to suborbiculate, 7–14 mm; ovaries glabrous. Drupes purple-red to yellow, sometimes glaucous, ovoid, ellipsoid, or globose, 15–30 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones ellipsoid to ovoid, ± to strongly flattened. 2n = 16.


Phenology: Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting Jun–Aug.
Habitat: Roadsides, stream banks, canyons, chaparral
Elevation: 0–900 m

Distribution

V9 622-distribution-map.jpg

Introduced; B.C., Ont., Calif., Idaho, Md., Mass., N.H., N.Y., Ohio, Oreg., Pa., Wash., se Europe

Discussion

The purple-leaved, pink-flowered cultivars of Prunus cerasifera are especially popular for ornamental use. The earliest purple form was introduced into European gardens about 1880 by M. Pissard, gardener to the Shah of Iran. Prunus cerasifera is widely used as a rootstock for commercial plums.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Prunus cerasifera"
glabrous +  and hairy +
hairy +  and glabrous +
obtuse;acute +
Joseph R. Rohrer +
Ehrhart +
dark gray +, gray-brown +, reddish-brown +  and reddish +
compound +  and simple +
opposite +  and alternate +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
obovate +, elliptic +  and ovate +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (18 cm180 mm <br />0.18 m <br />) +
membranous +  and leathery +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (?) +  and 3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br /> (?) +
free +  and distinct +
Cherry plum +  and myrobalan +
solitary +, fascicles +, 2-flowered +  and umbellate +
B.C. +, Ont. +, Calif. +, Idaho +, Md. +, Mass. +, N.H. +, N.Y. +, Ohio +, Oreg. +, Pa. +, Wash. +  and se Europe +
not +  and aggregated +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
purple-red +  and yellow +
glabrous +  and glaucous +
globose +, ellipsoid +  and ovoid +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
0–900 m +
flattened +
hairy +  and glabrous +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
unisexual +  and bisexual +
not +  and aggregated +
not +  and aggregated +
not +  and aggregated +
Roadsides, stream banks, canyons, chaparral +
persistent +  and deciduous +
campanulate +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
crassinucellate +
deciduous +
glandular-toothed +  and nearly entire +
inferior +  and superior +
biseriate +  and clustered +
collateral +  and apical +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br />) +
0 (?) +  and 4 (?) +
free +  and distinct +
elliptic;suborbiculate +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1.4 cm14 mm <br />0.014 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
Flowering Feb–Apr +  and fruiting Jun–Aug. +
adnate +, free +, connate +  and distinct +
Gartenkalender +
not arillate +
free +  and distinct +
reflexed +  and spreading +
oblong-ovate +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
Introduced +
free +  and distinct +
branched +  and simple +
1 +  and 20 +
linear;lanceolate +
flattened +, ellipsoid +  and ovoid +
deciduous +
distinct +
basal +, lateral +, subterminal +  and terminal +
not elongate +
Amygdalus +, Armeniaca +, Cerasus +, Lauro-cerasus +, Padus +  and Persica +
Prunus cerasifera +
species +
inconspicuous +
tree +  and suckering +
hairy +  and glabrous +