Prunus emarginata | |
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Prunus emarginata leaves and flowers | |
Scientific classification | |
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 | |
Natural range | |
Synonyms [1] | |
|
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]
Prunus emarginata is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 1–15 metres (3+1⁄2–49 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 (3⁄4–3+1⁄8 inches) long, thin, egg-shaped, 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 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 (1⁄4–1⁄2 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]
Prunus pensylvanica, the pin cherry, is closely related. [9]
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]
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]
The extremely bitter cherries are inedible to humans. [11] Native Americans used the bark in basket making. [9]
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]
Prunus emarginata | |
---|---|
Prunus emarginata leaves and flowers | |
Scientific classification | |
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 | |
Natural range | |
Synonyms [1] | |
|
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]
Prunus emarginata is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 1–15 metres (3+1⁄2–49 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 (3⁄4–3+1⁄8 inches) long, thin, egg-shaped, 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 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 (1⁄4–1⁄2 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]
Prunus pensylvanica, the pin cherry, is closely related. [9]
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]
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]
The extremely bitter cherries are inedible to humans. [11] Native Americans used the bark in basket making. [9]
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]