Prunus alleghaniensis

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Rosales

Familia: Rosaceae
Subfamilia: Amygdaloideae
Tribus: Amygdaleae
Genus: Prunus
Subgenus: P. subg. Prunus
Sectio: P. sect. Prunocerasus
Species: Prunus alleghaniensis
Name

Prunus alleghaniensis Porter
References

Botanical Gazette; Paper of Botanical Notes. Crawfordsville, IN, chicago, IL 2:85. 1877
USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. [1]

Prunus alleghaniensis, the Allegheny plum,[2] is a species of New World plum, native to the Appalachian Mountains.

Description

Prunus alleghaniensis is a shrub or small tree 0.91–3.66 meters (3–12 feet) tall. The leaves are 5 to 9 centimeters (2 to 3+1⁄2 inches) long, the tip is usually long and pointed. The leaf margins are finely toothed. The twigs sometimes have thorns. The bark is fissured in older specimens. The flowers are plentiful and white, eventually turning pink. The dark reddish purple fruit is 13 millimeters (1⁄2 in) wide, with a whitish bloom.[3]
Distribution and habitat

The species is native to the Appalachian Mountains from New York to Kentucky and North Carolina, plus the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. There are old reports of it growing also in New Jersey and Connecticut, but it now appears to have been extirpated in those two states.[4][5][6][7] It is typically found in elevations between 370 and 610 m (1,200 and 2,000 ft).

It is not common in moist woodlands.
Uses

The fruit is made into preserves and jelly.[8]
References

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / 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.
USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Prunus alleghaniensis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
Porter, Thomas Conrad 1877. Botanical Gazette 2(5): 85
"ITIS Standard Report Page: Prunus alleghaniensis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
"Prunus alleghaniensis". National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
Kershner, Mathews, Nelson & Spellenburg, "Field Guide to Trees of North America", (Sterling Publishing Co, New York, New York, 2008), p. 344-345, accessed the 18th of December, 2010
Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 493. ISBN 0-394-50760-6.