''Prunus emarginata'', the bitter cherry or Oregon cherry, is a species of ''

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 western North America.

Description

''Prunus emarginata'' is a

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 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 tall; west of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

, it commonly reaches tall. It has a slender oval trunk and smooth gray to reddish-brown

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), ...

with horizontal

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. 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, thin, egg-shaped, and yellowish-green with unevenly sized teeth on either side. 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 small, diameter, with five white petals and numerous hairlike

stamens The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

; they are almond-scented, produced in clusters in spring, and pollinated by insects. 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 juicy red or purple

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 ...

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.Plants of British Columbia
''Prunus emarginata''
/ref>Jepson Flora
''Prunus emarginata''
/ref> There are two

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

: * ''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. Oregon north to British Columbia, mainly coastal.

Similar species

Prunus pensylvanica ''Prunus pensylvanica'', also known as bird cherry, fire cherry, pin cherry, and red cherry, is a North American cherry species in the genus ''Prunus''. Description ''Prunus pensylvanica'' grows as a shrub or small tree, usually with a straig ...

'', the pin cherry, is closely related.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to western North America from

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

south to

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 ...

, and east as far as western

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

and

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. It is often found in recently disturbed areas or open woods on nutrient-rich soil.

Ecology

Mammals, deer and livestock forage on the leaves. The cherries are eaten by some birds (especially

cedar waxwing The cedar waxwing (''Bombycilla cedrorum'') is a member of the waxwing, family Bombycillidae or waxwing family of passerine birds. It is a medium-sized bird that is mainly brown, gray, and yellow. Some of the wing feathers have red tips, the rese ...

), who in turn distribute the seeds. The seeds have hard shells which can preserve them for decades before being released by fire. The tree is a larval host to the

blinded sphinx ''Paonias excaecata'', the blinded sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by James Edward Smith in 1797. Distribution It is found in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, and across the res ...

elegant sphinx ''Sphinx perelegans'', commonly known as the elegant sphinx, is a species of hawkmoth described by Henry Edwards in 1874. It is a large gray moth native to western North America. Distribution and habitat It is native to the western coast of No ...

Lorquin's admiral Lorquin's admiral (''Limenitis lorquini'') is a butterfly in the Nymphalinae subfamily. The butterfly is named after Pierre Joseph Michel Lorquin, a French naturalist who came to California from France during the Gold Rush, and made important dis ...

, pale tiger swallowtail,

small-eyed sphinx ''Paonias myops'', the small-eyed sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by James Edward Smith in 1797. Distribution It is found from south-eastern Canada to Florida and westward almost to the Pacific Coa ...

spring azure ''Celastrina ladon'', the spring azure or echo blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in North America from Alaska and Canada south of the tundra, through most of the United States except the Texas coast, southern plain and p ...

twin-spotted sphinx ''Smerinthus jamaicensis'', the twin-spotted sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773. Description It has a wingspan of – inches (4.5–8.3 cm), with the outer margins of the fore ...

, and

western tiger swallowtail ''Papilio rutulus'', the western tiger swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly belonging to the ''Papilionidae'' family. The species was first described by Hippolyte Lucas in 1852. Like the other tiger swallowtails, the western tiger swallowta ...

Cultivation

It has hybridized with the introduced European ''

Prunus avium ''Prunus avium'', commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry or gean is a species of Prunus subg. Cerasus, cherry, a flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It is native to Eurasia and naturalized elsewhere. It is an ancestor of ''Prunus c ...

'' in the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

area; the hybrid has been named '' Prunus × pugetensis''. It is intermediate between the parent species, but is nearly sterile, producing almost no cherries.

Uses

The extremely bitter cherries are inedible to humans. Native Americans used the bark in

basket making Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...

Medicinal

Native tribes, most notably Kwakwaka'wakw, used parts of the plant for medicinal purposes, such as

poultice A poultice or cataplasm, also called a fomentation, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is applied to the skin to reduce inflammation, soothe pain, promote healing, or otherwise treat wounds or ailments. Soft materials like cer ...

s and bark infusions. The isoflavone

prunetin Prunetin is an O-methylated isoflavone, a type of flavonoid. It has been isolated for the first time by Finnemore in 1910 in the bark of ''Prunus emarginata'' (the Oregon cherry). Prunetin isolated from pea roots can act as an attractant for '' Aph ...

was isolated for the first time by Finnemore in 1910 from the bark of ''P. emarginata''.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
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q591062

emarginata ''Emarginata'' is a genus of birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that occur in southern Africa. The three species in the genus were previously placed in the genus ''Cercomela''. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 ...

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