__NOTOC__ ''Prunus cerasifera'' is a species of

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found ...

known by the common names cherry plum and myrobalan plum.UConn Horticulture
It is native to

Southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...

and

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes A ...

, and is naturalised in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

and scattered locations in North America. Also naturalized in parts of SE Australia where it is considered to be a mildly invasive weed of bushland near urban centers.

Description

Wild types are large shrubs 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, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s reaching 8–12 m (25–40 feet) tall, sometimes spiny, with glabrous, ovate

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 leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...

leaves long. It is one of the first European trees to

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

in spring, often starting in mid-February before the leaves have opened. The flowers are white or pale pink and about across, with five petals and many stamens. The

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

is an edible

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

, 2–3 cm in diameter, ripening to yellow or red from early July to mid-September. They are self-fertile but can also be

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, ...

by other ''Prunus'' varieties such as the

Victoria plum The Victoria plum is a type of English plum. It has a yellow flesh with a red or mottled skin. This plum is a cultivar of the egg plum group (''Prunus domestica'' ssp. ''intermedia''). The fruit is oval or ovate in shape. The ground colour ...

. The plant propagates by seed or by suckering, and is often used as the rootstock for other ''Prunus'' species and cultivars.

Cultivation

The cherry plum is a popular

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 that ...

for

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

and

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

use, grown for its very early flowering. Numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s have been developed, many of them selected for purple foliage, such as ''P cerasifera'' var ''pissardii'' (Carrière) L.H. Bailey (''P.'' 'Atropurpurea').Pissard Plum Fact Sheet
/ref> The cultivar 'Nigra' with black foliage and pink flowers, has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (No ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. ''Prunus'' × ''cistena'' (purple leaf sand cherry), a hybrid of ''Prunus cerasifera'' and ''

Prunus pumila ''Prunus pumila'', commonly called sand cherry, is a North American species of cherry in the rose family. It is widespread in eastern and central Canada from New Brunswick west to Saskatchewan and the northern United States from Maine to Montana, ...

'', the sand cherry, also won the Award of Garden Merit. These purple-foliage forms (often called 'purple-leaf plum'), also have dark purple fruit, which make an attractive, intensely coloured jam. They can have white or pink flowers. The cultivar 'Thundercloud' has bright red foliage which darkens purple.Thundercloud Fact Sheet
/ref> Others, such as 'Lindsayae', have green foliage. Some kinds of purple-leaf plums are used for

bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...

and other forms of

living sculpture Living sculpture is any type of sculpture that is created with living, growing grasses, vines, plants or trees. It can be functional and/or ornamental. There are several different types of living sculpture techniques, including topiary (prune plant ...

. Cultivated cherry plums can have fruits, foliage, and flowers in any of several colours. Some varieties have sweet fruits that can be eaten fresh, while others are sour and better for making

jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and enterta ...

. Cherry plums are a key ingredient in

Georgian cuisine Georgian cuisine () consists of cooking traditions, techniques, and practices of Georgia. Georgian cuisine has a distinct character, while bearing some similarities with various national cuisines of the Caucasus and the wider Eastern Europe. E ...

where they are used to produce

tkemali Tkemali ( Georgian: ტყემალი) is a Georgian sauce primarily made of cherry plum, sometimes '' alucha'' or other varieties of plum. Both red and green varieties of plum are used. The flavor of the sauce varies, but generally tends to ...

sauce, as well as a number of popular dishes, such as

kharcho Kharcho, also spelled as Harcho ( ka, ხარჩო), is a traditional Georgian soup containing beef, rice, cherry plum purée and chopped walnuts (''Juglans regia''). The soup is usually served with finely chopped fresh coriander. The characte ...

soup and

chakapuli Chakapuli ( ka, ჩაქაფული) is a GeorgianDarra Goldstein, The Georgian Feast: The Vibrant Culture and Savory Food of the Republic of Georgia, p. 87 stew. It is considered to be one of the most popular dishes in Georgia. Preparatio ...

stew.

Gallery

File:Prunus cerasifera JPG1a.jpg File:PrunusCerasifera0.jpg, Flowers being pollinated File:Cherry plums.jpg, Ripe fruit File:Prunus cerasifera LC0385.jpg, Flowers File:PrunusCerasiferaBonsai.jpg, Prunus cerasifera bonsai (shohin size) File:MirabellenblueteH2a.jpg, close-up flower

Notes

References

External links

* * *
''Prunus cerasifera''
- information, genetic conservation units and related resources.

European Forest Genetic Resources Programme European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) is an international network that supports the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in Europe. The programme’s tasks include to coordinate and promote ''in situ'' and ...

(EUFORGEN) {{Authority control cerasifera Ornamental trees Flora of Europe Flora of Asia Plants described in 1754 Fruit trees Sour fruits Taxa named by Jakob Friedrich Ehrhart