''Prunus pseudocerasus'' or ''Prunus pseudo-cerasus'', the Chinese sour cherry or just Chinese cherry, is a species of
cherry
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...
native to China, It is used worldwide as an ornamental for its early spring
cherry blossom
The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...
s. The fruit of some cultivars are edible.
Description
A small bushy tree growing to at most , it generally has reddish buds, shell pink flowers and typical red (if a bit pale) cherries.
It can be distinguished from its congeners by certain traits; its leaves are broadly
obovate
The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets) ...
, with an
acuminate
The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...
tip, flat and
serrated, its inflorescences are corymbose or subumbellate, with at least three and as many as seven flowers, and its branches and
peduncles are
pubescent.
Uses
In China it has been cultivated for its edible (if tart) fruit for around 2000 years.
In Japan it is favored as an
ornamental tree
Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...
for its tendency to bloom, flowers before leaves, earlier than the Japanese cherry ''
Prunus serrulata
''Prunus serrulata'' or Japanese cherry is a species of cherry tree that grows wild in Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Philippines, Malaysia, Indones ...
''.
A
tetraploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...
with 2n=32 chromosomes, it is used as rootstock for other flowering cherries. It is the parent of a number of hybrid cultivars.
It is resistant to the fungal disease
cherry leaf spot. ''P. pseudocerasus'' is near extinction in the wild due to anthropogenic activities.
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q2715071, from2=Q15534770, from3=Q50857946, from4=Q50847829, from5=Q11054203
pseudocerasus
Cherry blossom
Cherries
Sour fruits
Trees of China
Garden plants of Asia
Ornamental trees
Plants described in 1826