Prunus emarginata
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Prunus emarginata, the bitter cherry[1] 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 Script error: No such module "convert". tall;[2] west of the Cascade Range, it commonly reaches Script error: No such module "convert". tall. It has a slender oval trunk and smooth gray to reddish-brown bark with horizontal lenticels. The leaves are Script error: No such module "convert". long, thin, egg-shaped,[2] and yellowish-green with unevenly sized teeth on either side.
The flowers are small, Script error: No such module "convert". diameter, with five white petals[2] 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 Script error: No such module "convert". diameter, which, as the plant's English name suggests, are bitter.[2] As well as reproducing by seed, it also sends out underground stems which then sprout above the surface to create a thicket.[3][4][5]
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There are two varieties:[3][1]
- 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.[6] Oregon north to British Columbia, mainly coastal.
Similar species
Prunus pensylvanica, the pin cherry, is closely related.[6]
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.[7][8] It is often found in recently disturbed areas or open woods on nutrient-rich soil.[9][3][4]
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.[6] The seeds have hard shells which can preserve them for decades before being released by fire.[6]
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.[6]
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]
References
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- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "template wrapper".
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Plants of British Columbia: Prunus emarginata
- ↑ a b Jepson Flora: Prunus emarginata
- ↑ Flora of North America, Prunus emarginata (Douglas) Eaton, Man. Bot. ed. 7. 463. 1836. Bitter cherry
- ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
- ↑ SEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapter photos, description, distribution map
- ↑ Script error: No such module "template wrapper".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ 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. Template:ISBN
- ↑ 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
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External links
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- Pages with script errors
- Prunus
- Cherries
- Flora of the Western United States
- Flora of Baja California
- Flora of British Columbia
- Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
- Natural history of the California Coast Ranges
- Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges
- Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area
- Plants described in 1832
- Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains
- Natural history of the Transverse Ranges
- Plants used in traditional Native American medicine
- Bird food plants
- Garden plants of North America
- Drought-tolerant plants