Prunus mexicana

S. Watson

Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 17: 353. 1882.

Common names: Mexican or bigtree plum
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 9. Treatment on page 379. Mentioned on page 357, 360, 378.

Trees, rarely suckering, 30–120 dm, sparsely thorny. Twigs with axillary end buds, usually glabrous, sometimes hairy. Leaves deciduous; petiole 4–18 mm, hairy, rarely only adaxially, usually glandular distally, glands 1–2 (–4); blade usually elliptic, sometimes broadly elliptic, obovate, ovate, or oblong, 6–12 × 3–7 cm, base usually obtuse to broadly rounded, sometimes subcordate, margins coarsely, doubly serrate, teeth sharp, eglandular, apex usually abruptly acuminate to acuminate, rarely acute, abaxial surface densely hairy, adaxial rugose, glabrous or hairy. Inflorescences 2–5-flowered, umbellate fascicles. Pedicels 4–20 mm, usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely hairy. Flowers blooming before leaf emergence; hypanthium obconic, 2–4.5 mm, glabrous or hairy externally; sepals reflexed, ovate to lanceolate, 1.5–4 mm, margins entire or irregularly or obscurely glandular-toothed, sometimes 2-fid at apices, ciliate, surfaces hairy; petals white, sometimes turning pink, elliptic to obovate, 5–10 mm; ovaries glabrous. Drupes purplish red to dark blue, glaucous, subglobose to ellipsoid, 15–30 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones ovoid-ellipsoid, strongly flattened.


Phenology: Flowering Mar–Apr; fruiting Aug–Oct.
Habitat: Stream bottoms, open woods, edges of woods
Elevation: 10–400 m

Distribution

V9 630-distribution-map.jpg

Ala., Ark., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Miss., Mo., Okla., Tenn., Tex., Mexico (Coahuila), Mexico (Nuevo León), Mexico (San Luis Potosí), Mexico (Tamaulipas)

Discussion

As L. H. Shinners (1956b) pointed out, plums from Texas determined as Prunus americana var. lanata Sudworth are not P. americana but P. mexicana. This was extrapolated by others to mean that all hairy americana-type plums, which had been called var. lanata, are P. mexicana. As a consequence, P. mexicana is often listed from states far from where it truly occurs (for example, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin) and herbarium sheets of hairy P. americana can often be found filed under P. mexicana.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Prunus mexicana"
hairy +  and glabrous +
acute;usually abruptly acuminate;acuminate +
Joseph R. Rohrer +
S. Watson +
dark gray +, gray-brown +, reddish-brown +  and reddish +
compound +  and simple +
opposite +  and alternate +
subcordate +, usually obtuse +  and broadly rounded +
6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br /> (12 cm120 mm <br />0.12 m <br />) +
oblong +, ovate +, obovate +  and elliptic +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (18 cm180 mm <br />0.18 m <br />) +
membranous +  and leathery +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (?) +  and 7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br /> (?) +
free +  and distinct +
Mexican or bigtree plum +
solitary +, fascicles +, 2-flowered +  and umbellate +
Ala. +, Ark. +, Ill. +, Ind. +, Iowa +, Kans. +, Ky. +, La. +, Miss. +, Mo. +, Okla. +, Tenn. +, Tex. +, Mexico (Coahuila) +, Mexico (Nuevo León) +, Mexico (San Luis Potosí) +  and Mexico (Tamaulipas) +
not +  and aggregated +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (8 cm80 mm <br />0.08 m <br />) +
purplish red +  and dark blue +
glabrous +  and glaucous +
subglobose +  and ellipsoid +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
10–400 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 +
Stream bottoms, open woods, edges of woods +
persistent +  and deciduous +
hairy +  and glabrous +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br />) +
umbellate +  and 2-5-flowered +
crassinucellate +
deciduous +
2-fid +, glandular-toothed +, or +  and entire +
inferior +  and superior +
biseriate +  and clustered +
collateral +  and apical +
hairy +  and glabrous +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
0 (?) +  and 4 (?) +
pink +  and white +
free +  and distinct +
elliptic;obovate +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br />) +
Flowering Mar–Apr +  and fruiting Aug–Oct. +
adnate +, free +, connate +  and distinct +
Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts +
not arillate +
free +  and distinct +
ovate +  and lanceolate +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
free +  and distinct +
branched +  and simple +
1 +  and 20 +
linear;lanceolate +
flattened +  and ovoid-ellipsoid +
deciduous +
distinct +
basal +, lateral +, subterminal +  and terminal +
not elongate +
Amygdalus +, Armeniaca +, Cerasus +, Lauro-cerasus +, Padus +  and Persica +
Prunus mexicana +
species +
inconspicuous +
hairy +  and glabrous +
tree +  and suckering +
hairy +  and glabrous +