Prunus emarginata

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Prunus emarginata
Prunus emarginata 15419.JPG
Prunus emarginata leaves and flowers
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. Cerasus
Species:
P. emarginata
Binomial name
Prunus emarginata
Prunus emarginata range map.jpg
Natural range
Synonyms [1]
  • Cerasus aridaGreene
  • Cerasus emarginataDouglas
  • Padus emarginata(Douglas ex Hook.) S.Ya.Sokolov
  • Prunus emarginata var. crenulata(Greene) Kearney & Peebles
  • Prunus erectaWalp.
  • Prunus crenulataTidestr.
  • Prunus pattonianahort.
  • Prunus prunifolia(Greene) Shafer

Prunus emarginata, the bitter cherry [2] or Oregon cherry, is a species of Prunus native to western North America, from British Columbia south to Baja California, and east as far as western Wyoming and New Mexico. [3] [4] It is often found in recently disturbed areas or open woods on nutrient-rich soil. [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Description

Prunus emarginata is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 1–15 metres (3+12–49 feet) tall with a slender oval trunk with smooth gray to reddish-brown bark with horizontal lenticels. As a tree west of the Cascade Crest the species commonly reaches 80 to a maximum of over 100 feet tall. The leaves are 2–8 centimetres (343+18 inches) long, thin, egg-shaped, and yellowish-green with unevenly sized teeth on either side. The flowers are small, 10–15 millimetres (3858 in) diameter, with five white petals and numerous hairlike stamens; they are almond-scented, and produced in clusters in spring, and are pollinated by insects. The fruit is a juicy red or purple cherry 7–14 mm (1412 in) diameter, which, as the plant's English name suggests, are bitter. As well as reproducing by seed, it also sends out underground stems which then sprout above the surface to create a thicket. [6] [7] [8]

There are two varieties: [6] [2]

Similar species

Prunus pensylvanica , the pin cherry, is closely related. [9]

Ecology

Mammals, deer and livestock forage on the leaves. [10] The cherries are eaten by some birds (especially cedar waxwing), [11] who in turn distribute the seeds. [9] The seeds have hard shells which can preserve them for decades before being released by fire. [9]

The tree is a larval host to the blinded sphinx, elegant sphinx, Lorquin's admiral, pale tiger swallowtail, small-eyed sphinx, spring azure, twin-spotted sphinx, and western tiger swallowtail. [12]

Cultivation

It has hybridized with the introduced European Prunus avium in the Puget Sound area; the hybrid has been named Prunus × pugetensis . It is intermediate between the parent species, but is nearly sterile, producing almost no cherries. [13]

Uses

The extremely bitter cherries are inedible to humans. [11] Native Americans used the bark in basket making. [9]

Medicinal

Native tribes, most notably Kwakwaka'wakw, used parts of the plant for medicinal purposes, such as poultices and bark infusions. [14] The isoflavone prunetin was isolated for the first time by Finnemore in 1910 from the bark of P. emarginata. [15]

Related Research Articles

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

Prunus is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds.

<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 serrulata</i> Species of tree

Prunus serrulata or Japanese cherry is a species of cherry tree that grows naturally in Japan, China, and Korea, and it also refers to a cultivar produced from Prunus speciosa, a cherry tree endemic in Japan. Historically, the Japanese have developed many cultivars by selective breeding of cherry trees, which are produced by the complicated crossing of several wild species, and they are used for ornamental purposes all over the world. Of these, the cultivars produced by complex interspecific hybrids based on the Oshima cherry are also known as the Cerasus Sato-zakura Group.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Prunus pensylvanica, also known as bird cherry, fire cherry, pin cherry, and red cherry, is a North American cherry species in the genus Prunus.

<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 mahaleb</i> Species of cherry tree

Prunus mahaleb, the mahaleb cherry 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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prunetin</span> Chemical compound

Prunetin is an O-methylated isoflavone, a type of flavonoid. It has been isolated for the first time by Finnemore in 1910 in the bark of Prunus emarginata. Prunetin isolated from pea roots can act as an attractant for Aphanomyces euteiches zoospores. It is also an allosteric inhibitor of human liver aldehyde dehydrogenase.

<i>Prunus avium</i> Species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae

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.

<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 nipponica</i> Shrub originating in Hokkaido and Honshu

Prunus nipponica, also called Japanese alpine cherry, is a shrub which originates from the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu, Japan. It grows to a height of about 5 meters (16 ft) and can grow in sandy, loamy, and clay soils.

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

Prunus sibirica, commonly known as Siberian apricot, is a species of shrub or small tree native to northern China, Korea, Mongolia, and eastern Siberia. It is classified in the rose family, Rosaceae, and is one of several species whose fruit are called apricot, although this species is rarely cultivated for its fruit. The species was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

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

Prunus alabamensis, the Alabama cherry or Alabama black cherry, is an uncommon or rare species of tree in the rose family endemic to parts of the Southeastern United States. It occurs in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. It is closely related to and found wholly within the range of Prunus serotina, the black cherry, a much more common and widespread species of Prunus that is also native to the region. Alabama cherry is sometimes considered to be a variety of Prunus serotina, however most authors treat it as a distinct species.

Prunus × pugetensis is a hybrid species of cherry discovered growing in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It has been given the nominal common name Puget Sound cherry. It is a cross of introduced sweet cherry, Prunus avium, and native Oregon cherry, Prunus emarginata. Individuals have been found growing in British Columbia, Washington state and Oregon, in the natural range of P. emarginata. It differs from P. avium in a number of features, including having narrower leaves and smaller flowers carried on a peduncle. Conversely, it has broader leaves and larger flowers than P. emarginata. The chief difference from its parents is that its flowers almost always abort, and it rarely bears any fruit.

<i>Prunus <span style="font-style:normal;">subg.</span> Cerasus</i> Subgenus of trees

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.

References

  1. The Plant List, Prunus emarginata (Douglas ex Hook.) Walp.
  2. 1 2 USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Prunus emarginata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  3. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  4. SEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapter photos, description, distribution map
  5. "Prunus emarginata". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Plants of British Columbia: Prunus emarginata
  7. 1 2 Jepson Flora: Prunus emarginata
  8. Flora of North America, Prunus emarginata (Douglas) Eaton, Man. Bot. ed. 7. 463. 1836. Bitter cherry
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Arno, Stephen F.; Hammerly, Ramona P. (2020) [1977]. Northwest Trees: Identifying & Understanding the Region's Native Trees (field guide ed.). Seattle: Mountaineers Books. pp. 242–245. ISBN   978-1-68051-329-5. OCLC   1141235469.
  10. Little, Elbert L. (1994) [1980]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Western Region (Chanticleer Press ed.). Knopf. p. 467. ISBN   0394507614.
  11. 1 2 Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 538.
  12. The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
  13. Jacobson, A. L. & Zika, P. F. (2007). A new hybrid cherry, Prunus × pugetensis (P. avium × emarginata, Rosaceae), from the Pacific Northwest. Madroño 54: 74–85. Abstract
  14. Casebeer, M. (2004). Discover California Shrubs. Sonora, California: Hooker Press. ISBN   0-9665463-1-8
  15. Isoflavones. III. The structure of prunetin and a new synthesis of genistein. R. L. Shriner, C. J. Hull, J. Org. Chem., 1945, 10 (4), pp 288–291