Prunus hortulana

For another plant called wild-goose plum, see Prunus rivularis.

Prunus hortulana
1913 illustration[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Prunus
Subgenus: Prunus subg. Prunus
Section: Prunus sect. Prunocerasus
Species:
P. hortulana
Binomial name
Prunus hortulana

Prunus hortulana, called the hortulan plum[3] and wild goose plum,[3] is a fruit shrub in the rose family found in the central United States in: Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia.[3][4] Populations east of the Appalachians probably represent naturalizations.[5]

Prunus hortulana is a deciduous tree with a trunk diameter of up to 15 centimetres (6 inches) and an overall height of 6 metres (20 feet) or more. The leaves are green and hairless on the top, but hairy on the underside. White flowers in clusters of 2–4 appear in the spring. The edible fruits[6] are red or yellow drupes with white dots, reportedly sweet and pleasant tasting. The species grows in upland forests and near streams.[7][8][9]

There are several domesticated cultivars and hybrids with other Prunus.[10]

  1. ^ illustration from Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 324
  2. ^ "Prunus hortulana L.H.Bailey". The Plant List. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Prunus hortulana". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  4. ^ "Prunus hortulana L. H. Bailey". Catalogue of Life. October 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  5. ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  6. ^ Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 499. ISBN 0-394-50760-6.
  7. ^ "Prunus hortulana Bailey". Oklahoma Biological Survey. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  8. ^ Flora of North America, Prunus hortulana L. H. Bailey, 1892. Hortulan or wild goose plum
  9. ^ Bailey, Liberty Hyde 1892. Garden & Forest 5(209): 90
  10. ^ Wight, William Franklin (April 2, 1915). Native American Species of Prunus. Washington, D. C.: United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved January 22, 2014.