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Bitter Cherry
( Prunus emarginata )
Prunus emarginata
More Photos at CalPhotos
More Info at Jepson eFlora
Calflora
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7 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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About Bitter Cherry (Prunus emarginata)
7 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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Oregon cherry or Bitter cherry (
Prunus emarginata
) is a species of Prunus native to western North America, from British Columbia south to California, and east to western Wyoming and Arizona. It is often found in recently disturbed areas, open woods, on nutrient-rich soil. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 1-15 meter tall with a slender oval trunk with smooth gray to reddish-brown bark with horizontal lenticels. The leaves are 2-8 centimeter long, thin, oval-shaped, and yellowish-green with unevenly-sized teeth on either side. The flowers are small, 10-15 millimeter diameter, with five white petals and numerous hairlike stamens; they are almond-scented, and produced in clusters in spring, and are pollinated by insects. The fruit is a juicy red or purple cherry 7-14 millimeter diameter, which, as the plant's English name suggests, are bitter. As well as reproducing by seed, it also sends out underground stems which then sprout above the surface to create a thicket.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Tree, Shrub
Size
3.3 - 80 ft tall
Form
Rounded
Growth Rate
Moderate
Dormancy
Winter Deciduous
Flower Color
White, Yellow, Green
Flowering Season
Spring
Wildlife Supported
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 10
confirmed
, 156
likely
* )
SHOW ALL
Western Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio rutulus
Papilio rutulus
Pale Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio eurymedon
Papilio eurymedon
Lorquin's Admiral
Limenitis lorquini
Limenitis lorquini
Ceanothus Silkmoth
Hyalophora euryalus
Hyalophora euryalus
Elegant Sheepmoth
Hemileuca eglanterina
Hemileuca eglanterina
Wild Cherry Sphinx
Sphinx drupiferarum
Sphinx drupiferarum
Western Tent Caterpillar
Malacosoma californica
Malacosoma californica
Landscaping Information
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade
Moisture
Very Low
Nurseries
Carried by 7
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy
Soil Drainage
Medium, Slow
Soil Description
Tolerates clay but does best in moist loamy soil
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Hedges, Bird Gardens, Bee Gardens
Propagation
?
For propagating by seed: Soak in water at room temperature for 8 days, and stratif y at 45°F for 5 mos. Fresh seeds give better results (Sorrell 1981).
Sunset Zones
?
1, 2*, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23
Natural Setting
Site Type
Rocky slopes
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 5.4" - 153.3", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 5.94", Coldest Month: 8.4" - 52.6", Hottest Month: 32.1" - 77.5", Humidity: 0.26" - 27.29", Elevation: 13" - 14040"
Alternative Names
Common Names
: Bittercherry
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Bitter Cherry
Prunus emarginata
Sources include:
Wikipedia
. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the
California Consortia of Herbaria
, Sunset information provided by
Jepson Flora Project
. Propogation from seed information provided by the
Santa Barbara Botanical Garden
from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include
CalPhotos
,
Wikimedia Commons
, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include
Calflora
,
CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online
,
Jepson Flora Project
,
Las Pilitas
,
Theodore Payne
,
Tree of Life
,
The Xerces Society
, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from
PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University
, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.
Links:
Jepson eFlora Taxon Page
CalPhotos
Wikipedia
Calflora
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