Prunus nigra

Last updated

Prunus nigra
Canada Plum fruiting spray 0 - Keeler.png
Fruits and leaves
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. nigra
Binomial name
Prunus nigra
Prunus nigra range map 2.png
Natural range of Prunus nigra
Synonyms [3]
  • Cerasus nigraLoisel.
  • Prunus americana var. nigra(Aiton) Waugh

Prunus nigra, the Canada plum, [4] [5] Canadian plum, [6] or black plum, [4] is a species of Prunus native to eastern North America.

Contents

Description

Prunus nigra is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 10 metres (33 feet) tall with a trunk up to 25 centimetres (10 inches) in diameter, with a low-branched, dense crown of stiff, rigid, branches. The bark is gray-brown, older layers coming off in thick plates. The branchlets are bright green at first, later become dark brown tinged with red, and spiny. The winter buds are chestnut brown, long-pointed at the tip, up to 8 millimetres (3⁄8 in) long. [5]

The leaves are alternate, simple, and oblong-ovate or obovate, 5–12 cm (2–4+3⁄4 in) long and 3–7 cm (1+1⁄8–2+3⁄4 in) broad, wedge-shaped, slightly heart-shaped, or rounded at base, doubly crenaulate-serrate, abruptly contracted to a narrow point at the apex, feather-veined, midrib conspicuous; they emerge from the bud convolute, downy, slightly tinged with red, are smooth, becoming bright green above and paler beneath when full grown. The leaf petioles are stout, bearing two large dark glands and early deciduous, lanceolate, and three to five-lobed stipules. [5]

The flowers are 15–25 mm (5⁄8–1 in) diameter, with five rounded petals, white fading to pale pink, with a more or less irregularly notched margin; they are slightly fragrant, borne in three to four-flowered umbels, with short, thick peduncles, and appear before the leaves in mid to late spring. The flower stalks are slender and dark red. The calyx is conic, dark red, five-lobed, the lobes acute, finally reflexed, glandular, smooth on the inner surface, imbricate in bud, ovate, with short claws, imbricate in bud. There are 15–20 stamens, inserted on the calyx tube; filaments thread-like; anthers purplish, introrse, two-celled; cells opening longitudinally; the pistil has a superior ovary in the bottom of calyx tube, one-celled, with two ovules. [5]

The fruit is an oblong-oval drupe, 25–30 mm (1–1+1⁄8 in) long with a tough, thick, orange red skin, free from bloom, yellow flesh adherent to the stone; the stone oval, compressed. It matures in late summer or early autumn. The cotyledons are thick and fleshy. The species grows best in alluvial soils. [7] [8] [9] [5]

It can easily be confused with the related Prunus americana , differing most obviously in the leaf margins having blunt, gland-tipped teeth, rather than the sharp, glandless teeth of P. americana leaves. [7]

Distribution and habitat

It can be found from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south as far as Connecticut, Illinois, and Iowa. [4] [10] It formerly also grew in Ohio but is now thought to be extinct in that state. [7] Isolated populations are present along streambanks in Saskatchewan and Alberta, [11] along Lake Timiskaming in Northern Ontario, [12] and along the Maine-New Brunswick border. [13]

Ecology

The population along the Maine-New Brunswick border is severely threatened as the tree is a host for an aphid that menaces the local potato crop, [13] with many of the trees having been cut down to reduce this problem.

A fungus in the genus Taphrina often attacks the plums; the young ovaries swell, often much larger than full grown plums, become hollow and often persist on the tree in winter. Known as "plum pockets", they appear pale green, leathery to the touch, and hollow with the exception of a few fibrous bands. The disease reduces regeneration of the plums. [8] [9]

Uses

The fruit is somewhat sour, clingstone, and very juicy. It can be eaten raw when fully ripe or cooked and made into pies, preserves, and jellies. [9] [14] Dried, these plums were a popular winter staple of indigenous peoples. French explorer Jacques Cartier remarked in his journal that he was presented with dried Canada plums by the St. Lawrence Iroquoians in his first expedition to Canada. [15] Early settlers in the western U.S. and Canada also made use of these wild plums for dried fruit, as popularized by the autobiographical novel On the Banks of Plum Creek , the fourth book in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie series.[ citation needed ]

One of the few tree fruits indigenous to the Upper Midwest of the U.S., Northern Ontario and the prairie provinces of Canada and capable of surviving the harsh winters there, efforts were made to breed improved cultivars of these plums in the 19th century. [16] Notable varieties still grown today include "Assiniboine" and "Cheney". P. nigra has the same number of chromosomes as P. salicina , the cultivated Japanese plum, and so the two cross-pollinate readily. [17] Breeding work in the 20th century resulted in improved P. nigra x salicina hybrid varieties that retain the high quality of Japanese plums and the hardiness of wild Canada plums, such as "Pembina", "Superior", and "Patterson Pride". [16]

The wood is bright red brown; heavy, hard, strong, and close-grained, with a density of 0.6918. [9] When wounded the wood turns an attractive red colour, and sawlogs of intentionally wounded trees are sought after by woodturners.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plum</span> Edible fruit

A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus. Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century.

<i>Prunus</i> Genus of trees and shrubs

Prunus is a genus of trees and shrubs in the flowering plant family Rosaceae that includes plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, being native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and temperate and tropical regions of Eurasia and Africa, There are about 340 accepted species as of March 2024. Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for their fruit and for decorative purposes. Prunus fruit are drupes, or stone fruits. The fleshy mesocarp surrounding the endocarp is edible while the endocarp itself forms a hard, inedible shell called the pyrena. This shell encloses the seed, which is edible in some species, but poisonous in many others. Besides being eaten off the hand, most Prunus fruit are also commonly used in processing, such as jam production, canning, drying, and the seeds for roasting.

<i>Viburnum lentago</i> Species of flowering plant

Viburnum lentago, the nannyberry, sheepberry, or sweet viburnum, is a species of Viburnum native to North America.

<i>Ptelea trifoliata</i> Species of tree

Ptelea trifoliata, commonly known as common hoptree, wafer ash, stinking ash, and skunk bush, is a species of flowering plant in the citrus family (Rutaceae). It is native to North America, where it is found in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It is a deciduous shrub or tree, with alternate, trifoliate leaves.

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

Prunus virginiana, commonly called bitter-berry, chokecherry, Virginia bird cherry, and western chokecherry, is a species of bird cherry native to North America.

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

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. P. cerasifera is believed to one of the parents of the cultivated plum, Prunus domestica perhaps crossing with the sloe, Prunus spinosa, or perhaps the sole parent. This would make it a parent of most of the commercial varieties of plum in the UK and mainland Europe - Victoria, greengages, bullace etc.

<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, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. It is an introduced species in Korea, Japan, Israel, the United States, and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plum pox</span> Viral plant disease

Plum pox, also known as sharka, is the most devastating viral disease of stone fruit from the genus Prunus. The disease is caused by the plum pox virus (PPV), and the different strains may infect a variety of stone fruit species including peaches, apricots, plums, nectarine, almonds, and sweet and tart cherries. Wild and ornamental species of Prunus may also become infected by some strains of the virus.

<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 pumila</i> North American species of cherry in the rose family

Prunus pumila, commonly called sand cherry, is a North American species of cherry in the rose family. It is widespread in eastern and central Canada from New Brunswick west to Saskatchewan and the northern United States from Maine to Montana, south as far as Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, and Virginia, with a few isolated populations in Tennessee and Utah. It grows in sandy locations such as shorelines and dunes.

<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>Viburnum prunifolium</i> Species of tree

Viburnum prunifolium is a species of Viburnum native to eastern North America, from Connecticut west to eastern Kansas, and south to Alabama and Texas.

<i>Hamamelis virginiana</i> Species of plant

Hamamelis virginiana, known as witch-hazel, common witch-hazel, American witch-hazel and beadwood, is a species of flowering shrub native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, and south to central Florida to eastern Texas.

<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>Malus coronaria</i> Species of tree

Malus coronaria, also known by the names sweet crabapple or garland crab, is a North American species of Malus (crabapple).

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

The tree species Sorbus americana is commonly known as the American mountain-ash. It is a deciduous perennial tree, native to eastern North America.

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

Prunus mexicana, commonly known as the Mexican plum, Inch plum, and Bigtree plum, is a North American species of plum tree that can be found in the central United States and Northern Mexico.

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

Prunus tomentosa is a species of Prunus native to northern and western China, Korea, Mongolia, and possibly northern India. Common names for Prunus tomentosa include Nanjing cherry, Korean cherry, Manchu cherry, downy cherry, Shanghai cherry, Ando cherry, mountain cherry, Chinese bush cherry, and Chinese dwarf cherry.

<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 simonii</i> Species of tree

Prunus simonii, called apricot plum and Simon plum, is a tree in the genus Prunus. It was first described by Elie-Abel Carrière in 1872 and is native to Hebei province, China. The species is not known in a truly wild state. It has been important for breeding commercial plum cultivars from crosses with other species of the genus Prunus. The species is named for Gabriel Eugène Simon (1829–1896), a French botanist and diplomat who sent pits to the Paris Museum in the early 1860s while he was representing the French government in China. Beginning about 1881, the species became commonly known in the United States; having been introduced there from France.

References

  1. ↑ IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group.; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; et al. (BGCI) (2020). "Prunus nigra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T64126058A181465299. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T64126058A181465299.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ↑ The International Plant Names Index
  3. ↑ "Prunus nigra". Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  4. 1 2 3 "Prunus nigra". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved May 17, 2007.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Rohrer, Joseph R. (2014). "Prunus nigra". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 9. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  6. ↑ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Prunus nigra​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 "Prunus nigra Aiton Canada Plum". Ohio DNR . Retrieved May 17, 2007.
  8. 1 2 New Brunswick tree and shrub species of concern: Prunus nigra Archived 2007-11-06 at the Wayback Machine
  9. 1 2 3 4 Keeler, H. L. (1900). Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 119–122.
  10. ↑ "Prunus nigra". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  11. ↑ Sawatzky, Rick. "Plums on the Prairies" (PDF). University of Saskatchewan Fruit Program. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  12. ↑ Soper, James H; Heimburger, Margaret, L (1982). Shrubs of Ontario. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum. p. 205. ISBN   9780888542830.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. 1 2 "Green Peach Aphid". New Brunswick Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries. 8 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  14. ↑ Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 503. ISBN   0-394-50760-6.
  15. ↑ Carl Ortwin Sauer (1975). Sixteenth Century North America: The Land and the People as Seen by the Europeans. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. pp. 80–81.
  16. 1 2 D.S. Blair (1954). Plums for Cold Areas of Eastern Canada (PDF). Canada: Department of Agriculture.
  17. ↑ "Japanese-American Hybrid Plums". University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.