Jepson eFlora: Taxon page
Vascular Plants of California
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Prunus cerasifera
CHERRY PLUM


Higher Taxonomy
Family: RosaceaeView DescriptionDichotomous Key
Common Name: ROSE FAMILY
Habit: Annual to tree, glandular or not. Leaf: simple to palmately or pinnately compound, generally alternate; stipules free to fused (0), persistent to deciduous. Inflorescence: cyme, raceme, panicle, cluster, or flowers 1; bractlets on pedicel ("pedicel bractlets") generally 0--3(many), subtended by bract or generally not. Flower: generally bisexual, radial; hypanthium free or fused to ovary, saucer- to funnel-shaped, subtending bractlets ("hypanthium bractlets") 0--5, alternate sepals; sepals generally 5; petals generally 5, free; stamens (0,1)5--many, anther pollen sacs generally 2; pistils (0)1--many, simple or compound, ovary superior to inferior, styles 1--5. Fruit: 1--many per flower, achene (fleshy-coated or not), follicle, drupe, or pome with generally papery core, occasionally drupe-like with 1--5 stones. Seed: generally 1--5 (per fruit, not per flower).
Genera In Family: 110 genera, +- 3000 species: worldwide, especially temperate; many cultivated for ornament, fruit, especially Cotoneaster, Fragaria, Malus, Prunus, Pyracantha, Rosa, Rubus. Note: Number of teeth is per leaf or leaflet, not per side of leaf or leaflet, except in Drymocallis.
eFlora Treatment Author: Daniel Potter & Barbara Ertter, family description, key to genera, treatment of genera by Daniel Potter, except as noted
Scientific Editor: Daniel Potter, Thomas J. Rosatti.
Genus: PrunusView DescriptionDichotomous Key


Habit: Shrub, tree. Leaf: simple, alternate or clustered on short-shoots, entire to serrate, generally glabrous, generally glandular on teeth and at blade-petiole junction, veins pinnate; stipules deciduous. Inflorescence: raceme, umbel-like or subsessile cluster, or fls 1; pedicel bractlets 0. Flower: hypanthium cup- to urn-shaped, deciduous in fruit, bractlets 0; sepals erect to reflexed; stamens generally 10--30, generally in 2+ whorls; pistil 1, ovary superior, chamber 1, ovules 2, style 1, stigma +- spheric or disk-like. Fruit: drupe, generally ovoid to spheric.
Etymology: (Greek: plum, prune) Toxicity: Seeds of many species +- TOXIC from production of hydrocyanic acid. Note: Many cultivated for wood, ornamental, edible fruit; some persisting near human habitations, some possibly naturalized (e.g., Prunus laurocerasus L.).
Unabridged Note: Many cultivated for wood, ornamental, edible fruit; some persisting near human habitation (Prunus armeniaca L., apricot; Prunus avium (L.) L., sweet cherry; Prunus caroliniana (Mill.) Aiton; Prunus cerasus L., sour cherry; Prunus domestica L., plum; Prunus laurocerasus L., laurel cherry; Prunus lusitanica L., Portugal laurel; Prunus mahaleb L.; Prunus munsoniana W. Wight & Hedrick; Prunus speciosa (Koidz.) Nakai; Prunus yedoensis Matsum.).
eFlora Treatment Author: Joseph R. Rohrer
Prunus cerasifera Ehrh.
NATURALIZED
Habit: Tree 4--8 m, not thorny. Leaf: deciduous; petiole 5--20 mm; blade 30--70 mm, elliptic to (ob)ovate, crenate-serrate, base obtuse, tip acute to obtuse. Inflorescence: (umbel-like clusters) or not; flowers 1(2); pedicels (4)10--18 mm. Flower: sepals glabrous, gland-toothed to nearly entire; petals 7--14 mm, white. Fruit: 15--30 mm, glabrous, yellow to red; pulp fleshy. Chromosomes: 2n=16.
Ecology: Roadsides, streambanks, chaparral as waif; Elevation: < 1000 m. Bioregional Distribution: s NCoR, n SNF, CCo, SnFrB; Distribution Outside California: native to southeastern Europe. Flowering Time: Feb--Mar Note: Variants with red-pink flowers, dark red to +- purple leaves, fruit, commonly cultivated.
Jepson eFlora Author: Joseph R. Rohrer
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)
View the CDFA Pest Rating page for Prunus cerasifera
Weed listed by Cal-IPC

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Citation for this treatment: Joseph R. Rohrer 2012, Prunus cerasifera, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=39972, accessed on April 19, 2024.

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 19, 2024.

Prunus cerasifera
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©2023 California Academy of Sciences
Prunus cerasifera
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©2016 Keir Morse
Prunus cerasifera
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©2008 Keir Morse
Prunus cerasifera
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©2008 Keir Morse
Prunus cerasifera
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©2023 California Academy of Sciences

More photos of Prunus cerasifera
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Geographic subdivisions for Prunus cerasifera:
s NCoR, n SNF, CCo, SnFrB
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map of distribution 1
(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurence).





 

Data provided by the participants of the  Consortium of California Herbaria.
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All markers link to CCH specimen records. The original determination is shown in the popup window.
Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location.
Yellow markers indicate records that may provide evidence for eFlora range revision or may have georeferencing or identification issues.
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CCH collections by month

Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).