Prunus emarginata

Prunus emarginata, the bitter cherry^[1] or Oregon cherry, is a species of Prunus native to western North America.

Taxonomy

There are two varieties:^[2][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.^[3] Oregon north to British Columbia, mainly coastal.

Description

Prunus emarginata is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 1–15 metres (3.3–49.2 feet) tall;^[4] west of the Cascade Range, it commonly reaches 80-100 ft tall. It has a slender oval trunk and smooth gray to reddish-brown bark with horizontal lenticels. The leaves are 2–8 centimetres (0.79–3.15 inches) long, thin, egg-shaped,^[4] and yellowish-green with unevenly sized teeth on either side.

The flowers are small, 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59 in) diameter, with five white petals^[4] 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 7–14 mm (0.28–0.55 in) diameter, which, as the plant's English name suggests, are bitter.^[4] As well as reproducing by seed, it also sends out underground stems which then sprout above the surface to create a thicket.^[2][5][6]

Similar species

Prunus pensylvanica, the pin cherry, is closely related.^[3]

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][2][5]

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.^[3] The seeds have hard shells which can preserve them for decades before being released by fire.^[3]

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.^[3]

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

1. ^
2. ^ Plants of British Columbia: Prunus emarginata
3. ^ Arno, Stephen F. & Hammerly, Ramona P. (2020 [1977]). Northwest Trees: Identifying & Understanding the Region's Native Trees. field guide ed. Seattle: Mountaineers Books. pp. 242–245. ISBN 978-1-68051-329-5. OCLC 1141235469
4. ^ Turner, Mark & Kuhlmann, Ellen (2014). Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest. 1st ed. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 252. ISBN 978-1-60469-263-1.
5. ^ Jepson Flora: Prunus emarginata
6. ^ Flora of North America, Prunus emarginata (Douglas) Eaton, Man. Bot. ed. 7. 463. 1836. Bitter cherry
7. ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
8. ^ SEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapter photos, description, distribution map
9. ^
10. ^ Little, Elbert L. (1994 [1980]). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Western Region. Chanticleer Press ed. Knopf. p. 467. ISBN 0394507614.
11. ^ Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 538.
12. ^ The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
13. ^ 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
14. ^ Casebeer, M. (2004). Discover California Shrubs. Sonora, California: Hooker Press. ISBN 0-9665463-1-8
15. ^ 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