Prunus mexicana
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. mexicana
Binomial name
Prunus mexicana
Generalized natural range of Prunus mexicana
Synonyms[2]
  • Prunus lanata (Sudw.) Mack. & Bush
  • Prunus mexicana var. fultonensis (Sarg.) Sarg.
  • Prunus mexicana var. polyandra (Sarg.) Sarg.
  • Prunus pensylvanica var. mollis (Douglas ex Hook.) B.Boivin
  • Prunus americana var. lanata Sudw.
  • Prunus palmeri Sarg.
  • Prunus polyandra Sarg.
  • Prunus reticulata Sarg.

Prunus mexicana, commonly known as the Mexican plum,[1] Inch plum, and Bigtree plum,[3] is a North American species of plum tree that can be found in the central United States and Northern Mexico.

Description

Prunus mexicana has a single trunk, an open crown, and reaches a height of 15–38 feet (4.6–11.6 m).[3] It has dark green, simple ovate leaves 2–4.5 inches (5.1–11.4 cm) long and 1.25–2 inches (3.2–5.1 cm) wide.[3] In the early spring it is covered with five-petaled fragrant white or pale pink flowers 0.75–1 inch (19–25 mm) wide.[3] Its dark gray bark is banded with horizontal lenticels.[4] The dark red or purple fruit ripens late in the fall.[5][6]

Prunus mexicana is very similar to Prunus americana, and they intergrade along a broad contact zone centered around Arkansas and Missouri. These intermediate individuals may be impossible to assign to a specific species.[7]

Taxonomy

Prunus mexicana is included in the section Prunocerasus.[8]

Distribution and habitat

The native range of the species stretches from South Dakota east to Wisconsin, Ohio, Kentucky, and Georgia, and south to the Mexican states of Coahuila and San Luis Potosí.[1][9]

It is usually found on woodland edges or in open fields. It is adaptable to a wide range of soil pH and is drought-tolerant. The trees are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 7 to 9.[4]

Ecology

The fruit is eaten fresh by both mammals and birds.[3]

Uses

The fruit is made into preserves, and the tree can serve as a rootstock for grafting on other plum cultivars.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Prunus mexicana". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  2. ↑ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 502. ISBN 0-394-50760-6.
  4. 1 2 Arnold, M. (2002). Landscape Plants for Texas and Environs. Stipes. ISBN 1-58874-153-2.
  5. ↑ "Mexican Plum, Big Tree Plum, Inch Plum". Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  6. ↑ Flora of North America, Prunus mexicana S. Watson, 1882. Mexican or bigtree plum
  7. ↑ Flora of North America, Prunus americana
  8. ↑ Shaw, J.; Small, R.L. (2005). "Chloroplast DNA phylogeny and phhylogeography of the North American Plums (Prunus subgenus Prunus section Prunocerasus, Rosaceae)". Am. J. Bot. 92 (12): 2011–30. doi:10.3732/ajb.92.12.2011. JSTOR 4125535. PMID 21646120. S2CID 207658064.
  9. ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
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