Prunus grayana

Prunus grayana (syn. Padus grayana (Maxim.) C.K.Schneid., Prunus padus var. japonica Miq.; Japanese bird cherry or Gray's bird cherry; Japanese ウワミズザクラ Uwa-mizu-zakura; Chinese 灰叶稠李 hui ye chou li) is a species of bird cherry native to Japan and China, occurring at medium altitudes of 1,000–3,800 m in the temperate zone. It prefers sunshine and moist (but drained) soil.[2][3][4]

Prunus grayana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Prunus
Subgenus: Prunus subg. Padus
Species:
P. grayana
Binomial name
Prunus grayana
Synonyms[1]
  • Padus acrophylla C.K.Schneid.
  • Padus grayana (Maxim.) C.K.Schneid.

It is a small deciduous tree reaching a height of 8–20 m. The trunk is slender with smooth grey to purple-grey bark marked with horizontal brown lenticels, with a strong smell when cut. The leaves are elliptical to ovoid, 4–10 cm long and 1.8–4.5 cm broad, with a serrated margin with aristate tips to the serrations. The lowest teeth of a leaf feature two glands. The flowers are produced on 5–8 cm long racemes, each flower 7–10 mm diameter, with five white petals; they are hermaphroditic, and appear in mid-spring after the leaves. The fruit is a small drupe, about 8 mm in diameter, green at first, then red and finally ripening black in mid summer.[2][3][5][6][7]

It is very closely related to Prunus padus (Bird cherry), differing in the aristate tips to the leaf serration (blunt-pointed in P. padus), and the longer style in the flower.[6][8]

Uses

The flowers, fruit and seed are all edible and are prepared and eaten in Japan. The fruit can be preserved with salt to make a dish called Anningo. The bark and roots are the source of a green dye. The wood is very hard and splits easily. It is used in various cabinet-making and various other ornamental applications.[3][9]

Classification

The taxon was described in 1864 by Miquel as Prunus padus var. japonica, on the basis of specimens collected by Siebold.[10] After a review of the previous literature, Maximowicz in St. Petersburg decided in 1883[11] the tree was a distinct species, and named it Prunus grayana after Asa Gray.

References
  1. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  2. Flora of China: Padus grayana
  3. Japanese Tree Encyclopedia: Uwamizuzakura Prunus grayana
  4. "Prunus grayana". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  5. Botanic Japan: Prunus grayana (in Japanese; google translation.
  6. Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.
  7. "Prunus grayana Japanese Bird Cherry, Japanese Bird Cherry PFAF Plant Database".
  8. Flora of China: Padus
  9. Plants for a Future: Prunus grayana
  10. Ohba, H., Akiyama, S., & Thijsse, G. (2003). Miquel's new taxa of the vascular plants described from Japan in Prolusio Florae Japonicae and some other works. Page 3
  11. Maximovicz, J.C. (1883). "Diagnoses plantarum asiaticarum". Bulletin de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences. XXIX (27): 51–228. For the details of the publication including the dates of the volumes and the reprint of the article in Mélange ... see Pagès, Léon; Wenckstern, Friedrich von; Palmgren, Valfrid (1895). A Bibliography of the Japanese Empire. Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 223.
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