''Prunus maackii'', commonly called the Manchurian cherry or Amur chokecherry, is a species of cherry native to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and both banks of the Amur River, in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

in northeastern China, and

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast ( rus, Аму́рская о́бласть, r=Amurskaya oblast, p=ɐˈmurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers in the Russian Far East. The administrat ...

and

Primorye Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of t ...

in southeastern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

.Flora of China
''Padus maackii''
/ref> It used to be considered a species of ''Prunus'' subg. ''Padus'', but both morphological and molecular studies indicate it belongs to ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. It is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

growing to 4–10 m tall. The bark on young trees is very distinct, smooth, glossy bronze-yellow, but becoming fissured and dull dark grey-brown with age. The leaves are alternate, ovate, 4–8 cm long and 2.8–5 cm broad, with a pubescent 1–1.5 cm petiole, and an entire or very finely serrated margin; they are dark green above, slightly paler and pubescent on the veins below. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s produced on erect spikes 5–7 cm long, each flower 8–10 mm diameter, with five white petals. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a small cherry-like drupe 5–7 mm diameter, green at first, turning first red then dark purple or black at maturity. Flowering is in mid spring, with the fruit ripe in early summer to early autumn.Mitchell, A. F. (1974). ''Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe''. Collins . It was named after Richard Karlovich Maack (1825-1886) who discovered it, and described by Ruprecht in ''Bull. Cl. Phys.-Math. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg'' 15: 361 (1857).Anon (1986). Notes and Quotes on the History and Origins of the Amur Chokecherry (Prunus maackii). ''Arnoldia'' 46 (2): 13–24. Availabl
online
(pdf file).

Cultivation and uses

It is grown as an ornamental tree in northern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and North America, mainly for its decorative bark. It prefers sunshine and moist (but drained) soil, and is tolerant of severe winter cold, but not heat. The fruit has been used in the manufacture of juice, jelly and jam. Specimens in cultivation have been measured to 17 m tall and 90 cm trunk diameter.

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q149392 Bird cherries maackii Flora of Northeast Asia Flora of China Flora of Korea Flora of Russia Trees of Siberia Trees of continental subarctic climate Ornamental trees Plants described in 1857