Prunus mahaleb | |
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Spring flowers of St. Lucie cherry | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Rosaceae |
Genus: | Prunus |
Species: | P. mahaleb |
Binomial name | |
Prunus mahaleb | |
Subspecies | |
Distribution map | |
Synonyms | |
Of the species: [3]
Of subsp. cupaniana: [4]
Of subsp. mahaleb: [5]
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Prunus mahaleb, the mahaleb cherry [6] or St Lucie cherry, is a species of cherry tree. The tree is cultivated for a spice obtained from the seeds inside the cherry stones. The seeds have a fragrant smell and have a taste comparable to bitter almonds with cherry notes.
The tree is native to central and southern Europe, Iran and parts of central Asia. It is adjudged to be native in northwestern Europe or at least it is naturalized there. [2] [7] [8] It is a deciduous tree or large shrub, growing to 2–10 m (rarely up to 12 m) tall with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter.
The tree's bark is grey-brown, with conspicuous lenticels on young stems, and shallowly fissured on old trunks. The leaves are 1.5–5 centimetres (1⁄2–2 inches) long, 1–4 cm. wide, alternate, clustered at the end of alternately arranged twigs, ovate to cordate, pointed, have serrate edges, longitudinal venation and are glabrous and green. The petiole is 5–20 millimetres long, and may or may not have two glands. The flowers are fragrant, pure white, small, 8–20 mm diameter, with an 8–15 mm pedicel; they are arranged 3–10 together on a 3–4 cm long raceme. The flower pollination is mainly by bees. The fruit is a small thin-fleshed cherry-like drupe 8–10 mm in diameter, green at first, turning red then dark purple to black when mature, with a very bitter flavour; flowering is in mid spring with the fruit ripening in mid to late summer. [8] [9] [10]
It demonstrates selective fruit abortion, producing a high proportion of excess flowers that result in low fruit set levels. This reduces the number of "poor quality" fruit and increases the viability of its seeds. [11] [12]
As of February 2023 [update] , two subspecies were accepted by Plants of the World Online: [3]
Prunus mahaleb occurs in thickets and open woodland on dry slopes; in central Europe at altitudes up to 1,700 m (5,600 ft), and in highlands at 1,200–2,000 m in southern Europe. [10] It has become naturalised in some temperate areas, including Europe north of its native range (north to Great Britain and Sweden), and locally in Australia and the United States. [10] [13] [14]
A scientific study [15] discovered an ecological dependence between the plant and four species of frugivorous birds in southeastern Spain; blackbirds and blackcaps proved to be the most important seed dispersers. When P. mahaleb is fruiting, these birds consume the fruit almost exclusively, and disperse the seeds to the locations favourable for the tree's growth. The way in which some birds consume the fruits and the habitats those birds use may act as a selective force in determining which genetic variations of the cherry flourish. [16]
Away from its native range, the species is grown as an ornamental tree for its strongly fragrant flowers, throughout temperate regions of the world. A number of cultivars have been selected for their ornamental value, including 'Albomarginata', with variegated foliage, 'Bommii', a dwarf with strongly pendulous branches, 'Globosa', a compact dwarf clone, 'Pendula', with drooping branching, and 'Xanthocarpa' with yellow fruit. [17]
The plant is also cultivated for mahleb, a spice obtained from the seeds inside the cherry stones. It is fragrant and has the taste of bitter almonds. [18] It is used in small quantities to sharpen sweet foods, such as the Turkish sweet-bread çörek (chorak), the Greek sweet-bread tsoureki or the Armenian sweet-bread chorak. The chemical constituents are still uncertain, but the spice is prepared from the seeds, either by grinding and powdering the seed kernels, or in oil extracted from the seeds. [19]
The wood is hard, and is used in cabinet-making and for pipes. [20]
The bark, wood, and seeds contain coumarin. [20] [21] They have anti-inflammatory, sedative and vasodilation effects.[ citation needed ]
The fruit of Prunus mahaleb is inedible. [22]
Prunus mahaleb is a likely candidate for the ḫalub-tree mentioned in early Sumerian writings, a durable fruit-bearing hardwood with seeds and leaves known for their medicinal properties and associated with the goddess Inana. [23] The Arabic محلب mahleb or mahlab meaning the mahaleb cherry is in medieval Islamic writings by among others Al-Razi (died 925 or 932), Ibn al-Baitar (died 1248) and Ibn al-Awwam. [24] Ibn Al-Awwam in his book on agriculture dated late 12th century described how to cultivate the mahaleb tree: he says the tree is a vigorous grower, easy to grow, but a thing to watch out for is that it is not resistant to prolonged drought. He also described how to prepare the mahaleb seeds by boiling them in sugared water. [25] The word, and probably the mahaleb itself, does not appear in classical Latin, nor early or mid medieval Latin, and is rare in late medieval Latin. One early record in Latin is year 1317 in an encyclopedia by Matthaeus Silvaticus who wrote that the "mahaleb" is the kernel seed of the fruit of both domesticated and wild cherry trees in Arabic countries. [26] Another early record in Latin is in a medical-botany book by Ioannis Mesuae in 1479 spelled almahaleb (where "al-" is the Arabic definite article). [27] In 1593 the Latin botanist Carolus Clusius spelled it mahaleb. [27] Today its cultivation and use is largely restricted to the region that in the 19th and earlier centuries formed the Ottoman Empire. Syria is the main exporting country. [19]
The almond is a species of small tree from the genus Prunus, cultivated worldwide for its seed, a culinary nut. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus Amygdalus, distinguished from the other subgenera by corrugations on the shell (endocarp) surrounding the seed.
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus Pyrus, in the family Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the same name. Several species of pears are valued for their edible fruit and juices, while others are cultivated as trees.
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy drupe.
An apricot is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus Prunus.
A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus. Dried plums are most often called prunes, though in the United States they may be just labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century.
Prunus is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds.
Prunus cerasus is a species of Prunus in the subgenus Cerasus (cherries), native to much of Europe, North Africa and West Asia. It is closely related to the sweet cherry, but has a fruit that is more acidic. Its sour pulp is edible.
Prunus armeniaca is the most commonly cultivated apricot species. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation. Genetic studies indicate Central Asia is the center of origin. It is extensively cultivated in many countries and has escaped into the wild in many places.
A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance and nutritional composition of fruits. Frugivores can benefit or hinder fruit-producing plants by either dispersing or destroying their seeds through digestion. When both the fruit-producing plant and the frugivore benefit by fruit-eating behavior the interaction is a form of mutualism.
Prunus padus, known as bird cherry, hackberry, hagberry, or Mayday tree, is a flowering plant in the rose family. It is a species of cherry, a deciduous small tree or large shrub up to 16 metres (52 ft) tall. It is the type species of the subgenus Padus, which have flowers in racemes. It is native to northern Europe and northern and northeast Asia, and is grown as an ornamental in North America.
Prunus cerasifera is a species of plum known by the common names cherry plum and myrobalan plum. It is native to Southeast Europe and Western Asia, and is naturalised in the British Isles and scattered locations in North America. Also naturalized in parts of SE Australia where it is considered to be a mildly invasive weed of bushland near urban centers.
Prunus serotina, commonly called black cherry, wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the genus Prunus. Despite being called black cherry, it is not very closely related to the commonly cultivated cherries such as sweet cherry, sour cherry and Japanese flowering cherries which belong to Prunus subg. Cerasus. Instead, P. serotina belongs to Prunus subg. Padus, a subgenus also including Eurasian bird cherry and chokecherry. The species is widespread and common in North America and South America.
Mahleb or Mahlepi is an aromatic spice made from the seeds of a species of cherry, Prunus mahaleb. The cherry stones are cracked to extract the seed kernel, which is about 5 mm diameter, soft and chewy on extraction. The seed kernel is ground to a powder before use. Its flavour is similar to a combination of bitter almond and cherry, and similar also to marzipan.
Prunus ilicifolia is native to the chaparral areas of coastal California, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. as well as the desert chaparral areas of the Mojave desert.
Prunus lusitanica, the Portuguese laurel cherry or Portugal laurel, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to southwestern France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and Macaronesia.
Odoratus is a Latin adjective meaning "fragrant, perfumed", and may refer to:
Prunus avium, commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry, gean, or bird cherry is a species of cherry, a flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It is native to Europe, Anatolia, Maghreb, and Western Asia, from the British Isles south to Morocco and Tunisia, north to the Trondheimsfjord region in Norway and east to the Caucasus and northern Iran, with a small isolated population in the western Himalaya. The species is widely cultivated in other regions and has become naturalized in North America and Australia.
Pandanus odorifer is an aromatic monocot species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, native to Polynesia, Australia, South Asia, and the Philippines, and is also found wild in southern India and Burma. It is commonly known as fragrant screw-pine.
Prunus subg. Cerasus is a subgenus of Prunus. Species of the subgenus have a single winter bud per axil. The flowers are usually in small corymbs or umbels of several together, but some species have short racemes. The fruit is a drupe and has no obvious groove along the side. The subgenus is native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with two species in North America, four in Europe, two in North Africa, and the remainder in Asia.