''Prunus subcordata'', known by the common names Klamath plum, Oregon plum, Pacific plum and Sierra plum, is a member of the genus ''

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs from the family (biology), family Rosaceae. The genus includes plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and almonds (collectively Drupe, stonefruit). The genus has a cosm ...

'', native to the western United States, especially

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Description

''Prunus subcordata'' is an erect

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

or small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

growing to in height with a trunk diameter of up to . It sprouts from its

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

s and can form dense, spiny thickets. The

bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

is gray with horizontal brown

lenticel A lenticel is a porous tissue consisting of cells with large intercellular spaces in the periderm of the secondarily thickened organs and the Bark (botany), bark of woody stems and roots of gymnosperms and dicotyledonous flowering plants. It func ...

s, similar in appearance to that of the cultivated cherry tree. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are long with a petiole, dark green, turning red before falling, and faintly toothed. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are white or pinkish, 2 cm across, appearing in the spring in clusters of one to seven together. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a small,

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

-like

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

, variable in appearance, in length, and may be red or yellow; they mature in late summer. The plums are small and tart.Jepson Manual. University of California: ''Prunus subcordata''
/ref>Flora of North America, ''Prunus subcordata'' Bentham, 1849. Sierra or Klamath or Pacific plum
/ref> File:Prunus subcordata 2.jpg, Leaves and flowers File:Prunus subcordata 1.jpg, Thicket File:Prunus subcordata 4.jpg, Pinkish, pink-dotted flower close-up

Varieties

''P. subcordata'' var. ''kelloggii'' is less hairy and had larger, yellow fruits. ''P. subcordata'' var. ''rubicunda'' is a shrub with red fruits, which are relatively bitter. In addition to

and

, ''P. subcordata'' var. ''subcordata'', known as Klamath plum, is also found in Washington.USDA Plants Profile:
Prunus subcordata
'. Accessed March 29, 2022.Calflora taxon report, University of California, ''Prunus subcordata'' Benth. Klamath plum, Sierra plum
/ref>

Similar species

Prunus americana ''Prunus americana'', commonly called the American plum, wild plum, or Marshall's large yellow sweet plum, is a species of ''Prunus'' native to North America from Saskatchewan and Idaho south to New Mexico and east to Québec, Maine and Florida. ...

'' (American or wild plum) is found in the eastern United States.

Taxonomy

The three main

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

s are related to the plum's mountain ranges and locales.

Distribution and habitat

The species is native to

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

and from central to western and southern Oregon. It grows in forests, most often at low elevations near the coast, but is also found in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

and Cascades. It grows at altitudes of . The range of ''P. subcordata'' surrounds the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

, especially the western flank foothills of the Sierra Nevada range, but avoids the coast mountains of the southwest San Joaquin Valley. For other Pacific coastal ''Prunus'' species, '' P. emarginata'' is also found in the Pacific Northwest states; '' P. fremontii'' and '' P. ilicifolia'' are found in coastal or mountain areas of southwest California and northern

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

Ecology

Various animals eat the fruit and thus spread the seeds.

Uses

The berry is considered edible.

In culture

The Concow tribe call the tree gos’-i ( Konkow language).

References

External links

*
United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile for ''Prunus subcordata'' (Klamath plum)

Lady Bird Johnson database, University of Texas, Klamath Plum

CalPhotos photo gallery, University of California
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q2725382, from2=Q39780058 subcordata subcordata Flora of the West Coast of the United States Plants described in 1849 Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area