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Scientific Name
Synonyms
Family
Common Names
Origin
Cultivation
Naturalised Distribution
Habitat
Habit
Distinguishing Features
Stems and Leaves
Flowers and Fruit
Reproduction and Dispersal
Environmental Impact
Legislation
Similar Species
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Click on images to enlarge

infestation (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

habit in flower in spring (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

habit with leaves in summer (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

mature leaves (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

young stem and dark green mature leaves (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

close-up of leaf undersides (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

white flowers and light green young leaves (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

immature fruit (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

yellow mature fruit (Photo: Jackie Miles and Max Campbell)

close-up of seeds (Photo: Tracey Slotta at USDA PLANTS Database)

Prunus cerasifera

Scientific Name

Prunus cerasifera Ehrh.

Synonyms

Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. var. atropurpurea H. Jaeger
Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. var. pissardii (Carrière) L.H. Bailey

Family

Amygdalaceae (New South Wales)
Rosaceae (Queensland, the ACT, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia)

Common Names

cherry plum, cherry plum tree, cherry-plum, myrobalan, myrobalan plum, purple leaf cherry plum, purple leaf cherryplum, purple leafed plum, purple-leaf plum, purple-leafed cherry plum, purple-leafed plum, purple-leaved plum, thundercloud cherry, wild cherry plum

Origin

Native to south-eastern Europe (i.e. Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Yugoslavia), western Asia (i.e. Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, southern Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan), western China and Pakistan.

Cultivation

Cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera) has been widely cultivated as a garden ornamental and street tree in the temperate regions of Australia. Various purple-leaved cultivars are also very popular in cultivation (e.g. Prunus cerasifera 'Nigra', Prunus cerasifera 'Atropurpurea' and Prunus cerasifera 'Pissardii').

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in southern Australia (i.e. naturalised in eastern New South Wales, in the ACT, Victoria, south-eastern and eastern South Australia, and the coastal districts of south-western Western Australia). Possibly also naturalised in Tasmania.

Naturalised elsewhere in Europe, tropical Asia, New Zealand and the USA.

Habitat

A weed of riparian vegetation, open woodlands, disturbed sites, waste areas and roadsides in the temperate regions of Australia.

Habit

A large shrub or small tree growing up to 12 m tall, which loses its leaves during winter (i.e. it is deciduous).

Distinguishing Features

Stems and Leaves

The lower stems are sometimes spiny, while the upper stems are usually spineless. Younger stems are initially sparsely hairy but soon become hairless (i.e. glabrescent)

The alternately arranged leaves are borne on stalks (i.e. petioles) 5-15 mm long. These leaves (2-6 cm long and 1-3 cm wide) are egg-shaped in outline (i.e. ovate or obovate) with sharply-toothed (i.e. serrate) or almost entire margins and pointed tops (i.e. acute apices). They are hairless (i.e. glabrous), except for a few hairs along the veins on their undersides. The leaves may be either green or various shades of red or purple, depending on which cultivar they are from.

Flowers and Fruit

The flowers are borne singly or in small clusters on very short side branches. These flowers (about 2.5 cm across) are white, or occasionally pink, and are borne on slender stalks (i.e. pedicels) 1-3 cm long. Each flower has five rounded sepals and five petals. They also have numerous stamens and an ovary topped with a style and stigma. Flowering occurs during early spring (i.e. during August and September), before or with the new leaves.

The fleshy fruit (15-25 mm across) are rounded in shape (i.e. globose or sub-globose) and turn from green to yellow or reddish in colour as they mature. They have a stony centre (i.e. they are drupes) and resemble a cherry.

Reproduction and Dispersal

This species reproduces mainly by seed, which are mainly dispersed by animals that eat the fruit. Seeds may also be dispersed in dumped garden waste.

Environmental Impact

Cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, South Australia, the ACT and New South Wales.

Legislation

Not declared or considered noxious by any state government authorities.

Similar Species

Cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera) can be confused with sour cherry (Prunus cerasus), plum (Prunus domestica), cherry (Prunus avium ), apricot (Prunus armeniaca), almond (Prunus dulcis), peach (Prunus persica var. persica) and nectaine (Prunus persica var. nucipersica) trees. These species can be distinguished by the following differences: