Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Magnoliophyta -- flowering plants

Class: Magnoliopsida -- dicotyledons

Order: Rosales

Family: Rosaceae -- rose

Variety: The Palouse phase is var. emarginata, with var. mollis being more tree-like and found mostly west of the Cascade Mountains.

Common Name: bitter cherry, common bittercherry

Species Code: PREM, PREME

Origin: Native to shrub thickets, dry open forests and grasslands at the forest transition from British Columbia to California east to Montana and New Mexico.

Rare: no

Form: shrub, deciduous, 2-10 m tall, erect or spreading, glabrous to densely pubescent; bark reddish-brown on new growth, turning grey with age, lenticels prominent.

Mature height: 6-30 feet

Duration: perennial

Longevity: long-lived

Habitat Type: dry forest and the ecotone between forest and meadow steppe, occasional in shrub thickets, uncommon in grassland away from the forest transition.

Wetland Indicator Status: FACU

Leaves: alternate, petiolate; blades elliptic to oblanceolate, usually rounded to obtuse at the base, crenulate to serrate, 3-8 cm long, petioles usually without small glands near the top.

Flowers: coetaneous; corymbose; calyx glabrous to hairy, the 5 lobes oblong-lanceolate, 2.5-3.5 mm long, entire; corolla white, rotate, the 5 petals obovate to obovate-oblanceolate, 5-7 mm long, often pubescent on the lower surface; stamens about 20.

Flower color: white

Bloom: May, June

Bloom starts on: early May

Bloom ends on: early June

Fruit: drupe, fleshy, ovoid to spheric, bright to dark red, 8-12 mm long, bitter tasting, containing a single stone (seed).

Characteristics:
4120-8790 (average 3184) seeds/lb (Grisez et al undated).
7020 seeds/lb (USDA NRCS PLANTS Database 2010).
n=8 (University of British Columbia 2003).
Flowers are perfect.
Fruit is a drupe.
Drupes are edible but very bitter. Native peoples had medicinal uses for various plant parts. The leaves and twigs can cause prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide) poisoning. The stones of many Prunus spp. are also high in prussic acid. Birds and small mammals eat the fruit.
An important browse plant for Rocky Mountain elk in fall and winter (Kufeld 1973).
Prunus as a genus is insect pollinated (Grisez et al undated).
Prunus spp. are generally self compatible and can self pollinate if no other pollen source is available (Grisez et al undated).
Prunus species are a host for the larva of the pale swallowtail butterfly (Papilo eurymedon), and larva of the western tiger swallowtail, (Papilo rutulus) (Pocewicz 2005).

Sun requirement: full sun

Soil moisture: mesic

Precipitation: 16-32 inches (USDA NRCS PLANTS Database 2010).

Fire: Tops are killed by fire but plants resprout from the crown and root. Severe or frequent fires will kill the plants. Reestablishes in burned areas from sprouts and buried seed and may dominate an area after a burn (Esser 1995).

Hazards: The leaves and twigs can cause prussic acid poisoning.

Sowing time: summer or early fall

Transplant time: spring

Stratification: warm moist followed by extended cold moist

Seed yield: medium to high

Seed harvest: difficult

Seed first harvest: no information available

Seed cleaning: medium difficulty

Planting duration: long

Seed insect problem: none noted.

Seed shatter: low

Seed size: large

Seed harvest date: no information available

Seed comments: fruits are eaten by birds

Herbaria: Specimen data and digital resources from The Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria

Keywords: native perennial upland shrub

Propagation:
Sow seed in fall (Kruckeberg 1996).
Seeds of Prunus spp. have an embryo dormancy and require after-ripening with moisture and oxygen followed by cold moist stratification in sand or a peat-sand mix at 2-5^oC. Seed can be sown in the fall or stratified and spring sown. Seeds need 90-126 days cold moist stratification. Since the endocarp is permeable to moisture, acid scarification does not aid germination (Grisez et al undated).
2-3 months cold moist stratification or sow in the fall as soon as the seed is ripe. Can also be propagated from softwood cuttings in spring or early summer (USDA NRCS PLANTS Database 2010).
Needs warm moist stratification in the presence of oxygen, then 90-126 days cold moist stratification in sand-peat mixture. Can also be fall sown early enough to overcome embryo dormancy before the ground freezes. Softwood cuttings during spring and early summer will root w/ hormone, mist and bottom heat (Rose et al 1998).
Requires prolonged cold moist stratification (Mirov 1936).
Seeds need 3 months cold moist stratification (Mirov & Kraebel 1939).

Notes: Can be used in a dry, sunny spot in the landscape. Provides food for birds (Idaho Native Plant Society 1999).

References:
Esser, Lora L. 1995. Prunus emarginata. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ [2008, November 27].

Francis, John K (editor). 2004. Wildland Shrubs of the United States and Its Territories: Thamnic Descriptions: volume 1. Gen. Tech. Report 11TF-GTR-26. USDA, Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and USDA, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO. 839 pp.

Grisez, Ted J., Jill R. Barbour, and Robert P. Karrfalt. undated. Prunus L. Cherry, Peach, and Plum. In: Bonner, Franklin T., and Rebecca G. Nisley (eds.). Woody Plant Seed Manual. USDA Forest Service. Available online at http://www.nsl.fs.fed.us/wpsm/

Idaho Native Plant Society. 1999. Native Plants of Northern Idaho for Landscaping and Restoration. INPS White Pine Chapter. Moscow, ID. Online at http://www.idahonativeplants.org/guides/NorthIdahoGuide.aspx

Kruckeberg, Arthur R. 1996. Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press. Seattle, WA.

Kufeld, Roland. 1973. Foods Eaten by the Rocky Mountain Elk. Journal of Range Management 26:106-113.

Mirov, N.T. 1936. Germination Behavior of Some California Plants. Ecology 17:667-672.

Mirov, N.T., and C.J. Kraebel. 1939. Collecting and Handling Seeds of Wild Plants. Civilian Conservation Corps Forestry Publ. No.5. US Government Printing Office. Washington, DC.

Pocewicz, Amy. 2005. Host Plants of Palouse Butterfly Species. 2 page handout to accompany the April 2005 presentation to the Palouse Prairie Foundation.

Rose, Robin, Caryn E.C. Chachulski, and Diane L. Haase. 1998. Propagation of Pacific Northwest Native Plants. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, OR.

University of British Columbia. 2003. British Columbia Flora. University of British Columbia Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research. Accessed 9/1/09 online at http://www.bcflora.org/

USDA NRCS. 2010. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 23 February 2010). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Links:
Plant Profile from the USDA PLANTS Database
Species account from the Fire Effects Information System
Species information from the University of Washington Herbarium
Plant Guide from the USDA PLANTS Database