{{Short description|Species of tree}} {{Speciesbox | image = Prunus geniculata flowers.jpg | status = G3 | status_system = TNC | display_parents = 2 | genus = Prunus | parent = Prunus sect. Prunocerasus | species = geniculata | authority = R.M.Harper<ref name=ipni>&nbsp;''Prunus geniculata'' was first described and published in ''Torreya.'' 11: 67. 1911 (Note: the article in which the name appears begins on page 64, the species name not appearing until page 67.) {{ cite web |url=http://www.ipni.org:80/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=210779-2 |title=Plant Name Details for ''Prunus geniculata'' |work=IPNI |accessdate=July 9, 2011}}</ref><ref name=rmh>{{ cite journal |author=Roland M. Harper |title=A New Plum from the Lake Region of Florida |year=1911 |volume=11 |pages=64–67 |journal=Torreya; A Monthly Journal of Botanical Notes and News |publisher=Torrey Botanical Club, USA |location=New York |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32148922 |format=PDF |accessdate=July 9, 2011}}</ref> }}

'''''Prunus geniculata''''' is a rare species of plum known by the common name '''scrub plum'''. The species is endemic to Florida.

== Description == This plant is a low, rounded shrub with a gnarled trunk emerging from the sand and branching densely to form a mound up to two meters tall. The zig-zagging, angled, sharp-tipped branches are sometimes buried in sand and emerge covered in lichens. The gray bark cracks, revealing new reddish brown bark beneath. The alternately arranged leaves have smooth blades 1 to 3 centimeters long with wavy or toothed edges. Blooming occurs before the leaves appear. The flowers are usually solitary. They have five red sepals and five white petals a few millimeters long. There are many stamens at the center, each with a yellow anther. The species is andromonoecious, with individuals bearing both bisexual and male-only flowers.<ref name="cpc">[http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/collection/cpc_viewprofile.asp?CPCNum=3643 ''Prunus geniculata''.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829121521/http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/Collection/CPC_ViewProfile.asp?CPCNum=3643 |date=2011-08-29 }} Center for Plant Conservation.</ref><ref name="week">Weekley, C. W., et al. (2010). [https://archive.today/20130223151738/http://www.amjbot.org/content/97/1/144.full Multiple causes of seedling rarity in scrub plum, ''Prunus geniculata'' (Rosaceae), an endangered shrub of the Florida scrub.] ''Am J Bot'' 97(1) 144.</ref> The fruit is a bitter-tasting, egg-shaped drupe up to 2.5 centimeters long.<ref name="tnc">[http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Prunus+geniculata ''Prunus geniculata''.] The Nature Conservancy.</ref> The drupe is reddish purple in color.<ref name="cpc" />

The plant may be solitary or it may grow colonially. Little is known about the plant's life history.<ref name="tnc" /><ref name="cpc" />

== Distribution and habitat == The species is endemic to Florida in the United States, where it occurs on the Lake Wales Ridge in the central ridges of the peninsula.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Scrub Plum (Prunus geniculata) Species Account &#124; North Florida ESO Jacksonville |url=https://www.fws.gov/northflorida/Species-Accounts/Scrub-Plum-2005.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210404230726/https://www.fws.gov/northflorida/Species-Accounts/Scrub-Plum-2005.htm |archive-date=4 April 2021 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It grows in yellow-sand sandhill habitat dominated by longleaf pine and turkey oak and white-sand Florida scrub among sand pine, Florida rosemary, and scrub hickory.<ref name="tnc" />

As of 2008 there were 83 populations counted, but 39 of these contained fewer than 10 plants each. Most populations are on the Lake Wales Ridge, and a few are on adjacent ridges. Half the populations are on private land, but most of the large populations are in protected or managed areas.<ref name="five" />

== Ecology == The plant's native habitat is maintained by periodic wildfire. The natural fire regime in the area produces openings in the vegetation, removing woody, overgrown plants in the canopy and creating gaps where the smaller plants can receive sun. This shrub cannot tolerate shade and it thrives when fire clears the vegetation around it.<ref name="tnc" /> It resprouts from its fibrous root system after its aboveground part burns.<ref name="cpc" /> Flowering increases in the seasons after a fire, then decreases the longer the area goes unburned.<ref name="week" /> The plant is long-lived, has low mortality, and can survive many years without fire. However, fire suppression is the major threat to the survival of the species.<ref name="five">USFWS. [http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/five_year_review/doc2413.pdf ''Prunus geniculata'' Five-year Review.] May 2009.</ref> Due to the loss of its habitat, the plant is federally listed as an endangered species of the U.S.<ref name=":0" />

Another threat to the species is the outright loss of its habitat in the conversion to residential and agricultural properties, including citrus groves.<ref name=tnc/> The plant's own biology may contribute to its rarity: germination rates are low and many of the developing fruits are lost before they mature, either to abortion or predation.<ref name=week/> The species then experiences low recruitment, with few seedlings joining the population.<ref name=five/>

The drupe is consumed by animals.<ref name="cpc" />

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category}} *[https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PRGE USDA Plants Profile]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q7253106}}

geniculata geniculata Category:Plants described in 1911 Category:Endemic flora of Florida