Prunus gracilis

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Prunus gracilis
Prunus gracilis.jpg
1913 illustration [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Prunus
Subgenus: Prunus subg. Prunus
Section: Prunus sect. Prunocerasus
Species:
P. gracilis
Binomial name
Prunus gracilis
Synonyms

Prunus normalisSmall

Prunus gracilis, called the Oklahoma plum, [3] [2] sour plum, and sand plum, is a species of Prunus native to the south-central United States.

Contents

Description

Prunus gracilis grows up to 1.8 metres (6 feet) tall, has five-petaled leaves, and fruits ripen June–August. [4] It grows in clusters and thickets. [5] It is hermaphroditic and pollinated by insects. [2]

Taxonomy

The specific epithet Gracilis refers to 'slender branches'. [6]

Distribution and habitat

It is natively found in various states of the United States, including Alabama, southwestern Arkansas, southeastern Colorado, Kansas, northwestern Louisiana, eastern New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. [2] [7] [8] [9]

It is found growing in fence rows, open woodlands, woodlands edge, forest openings, hillsides, slopes, sandy roadsides, upland thickets and waste places. It is normally found at 100–1,300 m (330–4,270 ft) above sea level. [2]

Uses

Its red fruits are considered poor for eating, but Native Americans dried them for consumption during winter. [10]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Prunus cerasifera</i> Species of plum

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<i>Prunus japonica</i> Species of tree

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<i>Prunus salicina</i> Species of tree

Prunus salicina, commonly called the Japanese plum or Chinese plum, is a small deciduous tree native to China. It is now also grown in fruit orchards in Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Israel, the United States, and Australia.

<i>Prunus maritima</i> Species of tree

Prunus maritima, the beach plum, is a species of plum native to the East Coast of the United States. It is a choice wild edible and its few pests and salt tolerance make it a resilient fruit crop for degraded lands and urban soils.

<i>Prunus subcordata</i> Species of tree

Prunus subcordata, known by the common names Klamath plum, Oregon plum, Pacific plum and Sierra plum, is a member of the genus Prunus, native to the western United States, especially California and Oregon.

<i>Prunus nigra</i> Species of tree

Prunus nigra, the Canada plum, Canadian plum, or black plum, is a species of Prunus native to eastern North America.

<i>Prunus americana</i> Species of tree

Prunus americana, commonly called the American plum, wild plum, or Marshall's large yellow sweet plum, is a species of Prunus native to North America from Saskatchewan and Idaho south to New Mexico and east to Québec, Maine and Florida.

<i>Prunus fruticosa</i> Species of plant

Prunus fruticosa, the European dwarf cherry, dwarf cherry, Mongolian cherry or steppe cherry is a deciduous, xerophytic, winter-hardy, cherry-bearing shrub. It is also called ground cherry and European ground cherry, but is not to be confused with plants in the distinct "Groundcherry" genus of Physalis.

<i>Prunus caroliniana</i> Species of tree

Prunus caroliniana, known as the Carolina laurelcherry, Carolina cherry laurel, Carolina cherry, or Cherry laurel, is a small evergreen flowering tree native to the lowlands of Southeastern United States, from North Carolina south to Florida and westward to central Texas. The species also has escaped into the wild in a few places in California.

<i>Prunus alleghaniensis</i> Species of tree

Prunus alleghaniensis, the Allegheny plum, is a species of New World plum, native to the Appalachian Mountains.

<i>Prunus angustifolia</i> Species of tree

Prunus angustifolia, known commonly as Chickasaw plum, Cherokee plum, Florida sand plum, sandhill plum, or sand plum, is a North American species of plum-bearing tree. It was originally cultivated by Native Americans before the arrival of Europeans. The species' name angustifolia refers to its narrow leaves. It became the official state fruit of Kansas in 2022.

<i>Prunus rivularis</i> Species of tree

Prunus rivularis, known variously by the common names creek plum, hog plum, or wild-goose plum is a thicket-forming shrub. It prefers calcareous clay soil or limestone-based woodland soils. This deciduous plant belongs to the rose family, Rosaceae, and is found mainly in the central United States. It is a shrub consisting of slender stems with umbel clusters of white blossoms. The fruit is a drupe that resembles a large berry; though it has a bitter taste, it serves as a source of food for birds and other wildlife. "Prunus" is Latin for plum, whereas "rivularis" means being near a stream.

<i>Prunus hortulana</i> Species of tree

Prunus hortulana, called the hortulan plum and wild goose plum, is a fruit shrub in the rose family found in the central United States in: Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia. Populations east of the Appalachians probably represent naturalizations.

Prunus havardii, called Havard's wild almond or Havard's plum, is a rare North American species of shrub tree native to western Texas in the United States and to northern Chihuahua across the Río Grande in Mexico. It is in the genus Prunus in the rose family, Rosaceae.

<i>Prunus texana</i> Species of tree

Prunus texana, called peachbush, Texas almond cherry, Texas peachbush, sand plum, peach bush, and wild peach is native to central and western Texas. Although it looks like peach, it actually belongs to Prunus sect. Prunocerasus together with other North American plum species.

<i>Prunus umbellata</i> Species of tree

Prunus umbellata, called flatwoods plum, hog plum and sloe plum, is a plum species native to the United States from Virginia, south to Florida, and west to Texas.

<i>Prunus minutiflora</i> Species of shrub

Prunus minutiflora, called the Texas almond, is a shrub native to Texas and northern Mexico.

Prunus murrayana, called the Murray's plum, is a critically endangered shrub native to Texas. It is found in the Edwards Plateau and the trans-Pecos regions of the state.

References

  1. illustration published in Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. Vol. 2: 323.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Pollard, R.P.; Rhodes, L.; Maxted, N. (2016). "Prunus gracilis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T50403541A50673957. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T50403541A50673957.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Prunus gracilis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  4. "Prunus gracilis". Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  5. Wright, William Franklin (1915). Native American species of Prunus. Washington, DC: United States Department of Agriculture. p. 58.
  6. "Prunus gracilis Engelm. & Gray". Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  7. "Prunus gracilis". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  8. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  9. "USDA Plants Database".
  10. "Oklahoma Plum, Sour Plum, Sand Plum". Texas A&M University. Retrieved December 30, 2014.