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Prunus gracilis

{{Short description|Species of tree}}

{{speciesbox

|image = Prunus gracilis.jpg

|image_caption = 1913 illustrationillustration published in Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. Vol. 2: 323.

|status = LC|status_system = IUCN3.1

|display_parents = 2

|genus = Prunus

|parent = Prunus sect. Prunocerasus

|species = gracilis

|authority = Engelm. & A.Gray

|synonyms=Prunus normalis Small

|status_ref={{cite iucn |author=Pollard, R.P. |author2=Rhodes, L. |author3=Maxted, N. |date=2016 |title=Prunus gracilis |volume=2016 |page=e.T50403541A50673957 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T50403541A50673957.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}

}}

Prunus gracilis, called the Oklahoma plum,{{PLANTS|id=PRGR|taxon=Prunus gracilis|accessdate=14 October 2015}} sour plum, and sand plum, is a species of Prunus native to the south-central United States.

Description

Prunus gracilis grows up to {{convert|6|ft|m|abbr=off|order=flip}} tall, has five-petaled leaves, and fruits ripen June–August.{{cite web|url=http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PRGR|title=Prunus gracilis|publisher=Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center|access-date=December 30, 2014}} It grows in clusters and thickets.{{cite book|title=Native American species of Prunus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IKQUAAAAYAAJ&q=prunus+gracilis&pg=PA58|last=Wright|first=William Franklin|year=1915|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|location=Washington, DC|page=58}} It is hermaphroditic and pollinated by insects.

Taxonomy

The specific epithet Gracilis refers to 'slender branches'.{{cite web |title=Prunus gracilis Engelm. & Gray |url=http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/shrub/prun-gra.htm |access-date=December 30, 2014 |publisher=Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma}}

Distribution and habitat

It is natively found in various states of the United States, including Alabama, southwestern Arkansas, southeastern Colorado, Kansas, northwestern Louisiana, eastern New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.{{GRIN|accessdate=December 30, 2014}}[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Prunus%20gracilis.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map]{{Cite web|url=http://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile?symbol=PRGR|title=USDA Plants Database}}

It is found growing in fence rows, open woodlands, woodlands edge, forest openings, hillsides, slopes, sandy roadsides, upland thickets and waste places. It is normally found at {{convert|100–1300|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level.

Uses

Its red fruits are considered poor for eating, but Native Americans dried them for consumption during winter.{{cite web |title=Oklahoma Plum, Sour Plum, Sand Plum |url=http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/nativeshrubs/prunusgracil.htm |access-date=December 30, 2014 |publisher=Texas A&M University}}

References

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External links

  • {{PFAF|Prunus gracilis}}
  • [http://www.tropicos.org/Image/54690 photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Republic of Texas in 1844]
  • {{commons category-inline|Prunus gracilis}}
  • {{wikispecies-inline|Prunus gracilis}}

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gracilis

Category:Flora of the United States

Category:Plants described in 1845

gracilis

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