E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Prunus mahaleb L.
Mahaleb cherry
Rosaceae (Rose family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Jamie Fenneman  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #29428)

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Distribution of Prunus mahaleb
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Introduction

This is an introduced deciduous species of cherry tree that is found in south-central BC.

Species Information

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General:
Shrub to small tree, to 10 m tall; branches thin, hard, hairy when young then smooth; twigs green.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, broadly egg-shaped, 4-7 cm long, finely glandular-toothed, abruptly short-pointed at the tip; leaf stalks short, often with 1 or 2 glands near the top.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a short, more or less flat-topped cluster, at the end of a leafy spur-shoot, of several to many stalked flowers; corollas white, bowl-shaped, 1-2 cm across, the petals 5; calyces 5-lobed; ovaries superior.
Fruits:
Fleshy drupes with a large stone (cherries), egg-shaped, about 7 mm long, long-stalked, black; seeds 1.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic to moist fields and waste places in the steppe zone; rare in SC BC; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Cerasus mahaleb (L.) Mill.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References