Biology:Prunus emarginata
| Prunus emarginata | |
|---|---|
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| Leaves and flowers | |
Scientific classification 
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| 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 (Dougl. ex Hook.) Eaton
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| Natural range | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Prunus emarginata, the bitter cherry[3] or Oregon cherry, is a species of Prunus native to western North America.
Description
Prunus emarginata is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 1–15 metres (3 1⁄2–49 feet) tall;[4] west of the Cascade Range, it commonly reaches 24–30 m (80–100 ft) tall. It has a slender oval trunk and smooth gray to reddish-brown bark with horizontal lenticels. The leaves are 2–8 centimetres (3⁄4–3 1⁄8 inches) long, thin, egg-shaped,[4] and yellowish-green with unevenly sized teeth on either side.
The flowers are small, 10–15 millimetres (3⁄8–5⁄8 in) diameter, with five white petals[4] and numerous hairlike stamens; they are almond-scented, produced in clusters in spring, and pollinated by insects.
The fruit is a juicy red or purple cherry 7–14 mm (1⁄4–1⁄2 in) diameter, which, as the plant's English name suggests, are bitter.[4] As well as reproducing by seed, it also sends out underground stems which then sprout above the surface to create a thicket.[5][6][7]
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Flowers -
Pits -
Bark
There are two varieties:[5][3]
- Prunus emarginata var. emarginata. Usually shrubby; young shoots and leaves hairless or only thinly hairy. Most of the species' range.
- Prunus emarginata var. mollis (Dougl.) Brew. A larger tree; young shoots and leaves downy. Reddish-brown bark with light horizontal bands resembling water birch.[8] Oregon north to British Columbia, mainly coastal.
Similar species
Prunus pensylvanica, the pin cherry, is closely related.[8]
Distribution and habitat
It is native to western North America from British Columbia south to Baja California, and east as far as western Wyoming and New Mexico.[9][10] It is often found in recently disturbed areas or open woods on nutrient-rich soil.[11][5][6]
Ecology
Mammals, deer and livestock forage on the leaves.[12] The cherries are eaten by some birds (especially cedar waxwing),[13] who in turn distribute the seeds.[8] The seeds have hard shells which can preserve them for decades before being released by fire.[8]
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.[14]
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.[15]
Uses
The extremely bitter cherries are inedible to humans.[13] Native Americans used the bark in basket making.[8]
Medicinal
Native tribes, most notably Kwakwaka'wakw, used parts of the plant for medicinal purposes, such as poultices and bark infusions.[16] The isoflavone prunetin was isolated for the first time by Finnemore in 1910 from the bark of P. emarginata.[17]
References
- ↑ Pollard, R.P.; Rhodes, L.; Maxted, N. (2016). "Prunus emarginata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T50136459A50673950.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/50136459/50673950. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ↑ The Plant List, Prunus emarginata (Douglas ex Hook.) Walp.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Prunus emarginata". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=PREM. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Turner, Mark; Kuhlmann, Ellen (2014). Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest (1st ed.). Portland, OR: Timber Press. pp. 252. ISBN 978-1-60469-263-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=VLbAAwAAQBAJ.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Plants of British Columbia: Prunus emarginata
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jepson Flora: Prunus emarginata
- ↑ Flora of North America, Prunus emarginata (Douglas) Eaton, Man. Bot. ed. 7. 463. 1836. Bitter cherry
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Arno, Stephen F.; Hammerly, Ramona P. (2020) (in en). 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. https://books.google.com/books?id=qDD4DwAAQBAJ.
- ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
- ↑ SEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapter photos, description, distribution map
- ↑ {{citation | mode = cs1 | title = Prunus emarginata | work = Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) | url = | publisher = [[Organization:Agricultural Research ServAgricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | access-date = 26 December 2017 }}
- ↑ Little, Elbert L. (1994). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Western Region (Chanticleer Press ed.). Knopf. p. 467. ISBN 0394507614.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 538.
- ↑ The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Casebeer, M. (2004). Discover California Shrubs. Sonora, California: Hooker Press. ISBN 0-9665463-1-8
- ↑ 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
External links
Wikidata ☰ Q591062 entry
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