Prunus emarginata

Prunus emarginata
	Leaves and flowers
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Embryophytes
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Spermatophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Prunus
Subgenus:	Prunus subg. Cerasus
Species:	P. emarginata
Binomial name
	Prunus emarginata; (Dougl. ex Hook.) Eaton
	Natural range
Synonyms
	List Cerasus arida Greene; Cerasus emarginata Douglas; Padus emarginata (Douglas ex Hook.) S.Ya.Sokolov; Prunus emarginata var. crenulata (Greene) Kearney & Peebles ; Prunus erecta Walp.; Prunus crenulata Tidestr.; Prunus pattoniana hort.; Prunus prunifolia (Greene) Shafer; ;

Prunus emarginata, the bitter cherry^[3] or Oregon cherry, is a species of Prunus native to western North America.

Taxonomy

There are two varieties:^[4]^[3]

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.^[5] Oregon north to British Columbia, mainly coastal.

Description

Prunus emarginata is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 1–15 metres (3+1⁄2–49 feet) tall;^[6] west of the Cascade Range, it commonly reaches 24–30 m (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 (3⁄4–3+1⁄8 inches) long, thin, egg-shaped,^[6] and yellowish-green with unevenly sized teeth on either side.

The flowers are small, 10–15 millimetres (3⁄8–5⁄8 in) diameter, with five white petals^[6] 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 (1⁄4–1⁄2 in) diameter, which, as the plant's English name suggests, are bitter.^[6] As well as reproducing by seed, it also sends out underground stems which then sprout above the surface to create a thicket.^[4]^[7]^[8]

Flowers
Pits
Bark

Similar species

Prunus pensylvanica, the pin cherry, is closely related.^[5]

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.^[9]^[10] It is often found in recently disturbed areas or open woods on nutrient-rich soil.^[11]^[4]^[7]

Ecology

Mammals, deer and livestock forage on the leaves.^[12] The cherries are eaten by some birds (especially cedar waxwing),^[13] who in turn distribute the seeds.^[5] The seeds have hard shells which can preserve them for decades before being released by fire.^[5]

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.^[14]

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.^[15]

Uses

The extremely bitter cherries are inedible to humans.^[13] Native Americans used the bark in basket making.^[5]

Medicinal

Native tribes, most notably Kwakwaka'wakw, used parts of the plant for medicinal purposes, such as poultices and bark infusions.^[16] The isoflavone prunetin was isolated for the first time by Finnemore in 1910 from the bark of P. emarginata.^[17]

References

^ Pollard, R.P.; Rhodes, L. & Maxted, N. (2016). "Prunus emarginata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T50136459A50673950. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T50136459A50673950.en. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
^ The Plant List, Prunus emarginata (Douglas ex Hook.) Walp.
^ ^a ^b NRCS. "Prunus emarginata". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 14 October 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c Plants of British Columbia: Prunus emarginata
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d 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.
^ ^a ^b Jepson Flora: Prunus emarginata
^ Flora of North America, Prunus emarginata (Douglas) Eaton, Man. Bot. ed. 7. 463. 1836. Bitter cherry
^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
^ SEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapter photos, description, distribution map
^ "Prunus emarginata". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
^ Little, Elbert L. (1994) [1980]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Western Region (Chanticleer Press ed.). Knopf. p. 467. ISBN 0394507614.
^ ^a ^b Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 538.
^ The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
^ 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
^ Casebeer, M. (2004). Discover California Shrubs. Sonora, California: Hooker Press. ISBN 0-9665463-1-8
^ 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

External links

"Prunus emarginata". Plants for a Future.

[IUCN-1] Pollard, R.P.; Rhodes, L. & Maxted, N. (2016). "Prunus emarginata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T50136459A50673950. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T50136459A50673950.en. Retrieved 9 March 2026.

[2] The Plant List, Prunus emarginata (Douglas ex Hook.) Walp.

[usda-3] NRCS. "Prunus emarginata". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 14 October 2015.

[bc-4] Plants of British Columbia: Prunus emarginata

[:022-5] 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.

[tktimb-6] 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.

[jeps-7] Jepson Flora: Prunus emarginata

[8] Flora of North America, Prunus emarginata (Douglas) Eaton, Man. Bot. ed. 7. 463. 1836. Bitter cherry

[9] Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map

[10] SEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapter photos, description, distribution map

[grin-11] "Prunus emarginata". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 26 December 2017.

[12] Little, Elbert L. (1994) [1980]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Western Region (Chanticleer Press ed.). Knopf. p. 467. ISBN 0394507614.

[:0-13] Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 538.

[14] The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.

[15] 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

[16] Casebeer, M. (2004). Discover California Shrubs. Sonora, California: Hooker Press. ISBN 0-9665463-1-8

[17] 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

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