''Prunus pseudocerasus'' or ''Prunus pseudo-cerasus'', the Chinese sour cherry or just Chinese cherry, is a species of cherry native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and is used worldwide as an ornamental for its early spring

cherry blossom A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

s. The fruits of some cultivars are edible.

Description

A small bushy tree growing to at most 8m, it generally has reddish buds, pale pink 2cm flowers and typical red (if a bit pale) 1.5cm cherries. It can be distinguished from its congeners by certain traits; its 7-16cm leaves are broadly

obovate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

, with an

acuminate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

tip, flat and

serrate Serration is a saw-like appearance or a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. A serrated cutting edge has many small points of contact with the material being cut. By having less contact area than a smooth blade or other edge, the applied pr ...

d, its inflorescences are corymbose or subumbellate, with at least three and as many as seven flowers, and its branches and peduncles are

pubescent The adjective pubescent may describe: * people or animals undergoing puberty * plants that are hairy, covered in trichomes * insects that are covered in setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a ...

Uses

In China it has been cultivated for its edible (if tart) fruit for around 2000 years. In Japan it is favored as an

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

for its tendency to bloom, flowers before leaves, earlier than the Japanese cherry ''

Prunus serrulata ''Prunus serrulata'' or Japanese cherry is a species of cherry tree that grows naturally in Japan, China, and Korea, and it also refers to a cultivar produced from ''Prunus speciosa'' (Oshima cherry), a cherry tree endemic in Japan.Toshio Katsu ...

''. A

tetraploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...

with 2n=32 chromosomes, it is used as rootstock for other flowering cherries. It is the parent of a number of hybrid cultivars. It is resistant to the fungal disease

cherry leaf spot Cherry leaf spot is a fungal disease which infects cherries and plums. Sweet, sour, and ornamental cherries are susceptible to the disease, being most prevalent in sour cherries. The variety of sour cherries that is the most susceptible are t ...

. ''P. pseudocerasus'' contain carotene, vitamin C, proteins, saccharides, iron, and phosphorus. ''P. pseudocerasus'' is near extinction in the wild due to anthropogenic activities.Ying , Feng, and Cai YL et al. Characterization of the Complete Chloroplast Genome of the Chinese Cherry ''Prunus Pseudocerasus'' (Rosaceae). SPRINGER, VAN GODEWIJCKSTRAAT 30, 3311 GZ DORDRECHT, NETHERLANDS.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q2715071, from2=Q15534770, from3=Q50857946, from4=Q50847829, from5=Q11054203 pseudocerasus Cherry blossom Cherries Sour fruits Trees of Japan Trees of China Flora of Asia Flora of Japan Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees Plants described in 1826