''Oemleria cerasiformis'', a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

commonly known as osoberry or Indian plum, is the sole species in

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Oemleria''. Native to the Pacific

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

and ranges of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to Santa Barbara County,

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, it is among the first plants to leaf out and flowers early in the spring. It reaches a height of 1.5–5 m and has lance-shaped leaves 5–12 cm long. The fruits of osoberry are edible and resemble small plums which are dark blue when ripe.

Indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

include osoberry in their diets, make

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

of the

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, ...

, and chew its twigs to use as a mild anesthetic and aphrodisiac.

Description

Osoberry is an erect, loosely branched shrub reaching in height. Leaves are alternate, simple, deciduous; generally elliptical or oblong, , light green and smooth above and paler below with very small soft hairs; margins are entire to wavy; fresh foliage smells and may taste like cucumber. Among the first plants to leaf-out in the spring. The plants are

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

; male and female flowers occur on different plants. The 5-petaled flowers are white or whitish-green, pendulous, about 1 cm across, and often appear in late winter before the leaves. The bitter-tasting fruit occurs in ovoid drupes up to long, orange or yellow when young but blue-black when mature; borne on a red stem. The twig is slender, green turning to reddish brown, pith chambered, conspicuous orange lenticles. Bark is smooth, reddish brown to dark gray. Indian Plum is "shrubby"—often with multiple trunks and horizontal growth. Sagging branches that touch the ground root readily and separate, so large trees are often surrounded by genetic clones.

Uses

The wood is exceptionally strong and fine grained. With stems generally less than two inches cmin diameter, this small size limits the size of products that can be made from it. The fairly common straight shoots make fine primitive arrows and the rare, large enough and straight stem can be fashioned into an excellent

self bow A self bow or simple bow is a bow made from a single piece of wood. Extra material such as horn nocks on the ends, or built-up handles, would normally be accepted as part of a self bow. Some modern authorities would also accept a bow spliced toge ...

. It is also suitable for small wooden tools such as spoons, combs, knitting needles, etc. The fine grain and lack of significant figure also make the wood well suited for fine detail carving. The Pacific coast tribes utilized its fruit, twigs, and bark, as food sources and for teas and medicine. It is one of the first tree-borne fruits to ripen in summer and as such was prized by indigenous peoples and wildlife alike. Fruiting is highly variable, with sunny locations producing more, as well as larger and sweeter fruits. The fruits can be eaten raw, or cooked when bitter; they tend to be somewhat astringent.

Images

Image:Oemleria cerasiformis 15165.JPG, Fruits of ''O. cerasiformis'' Image:Indian_Plum.JPG, An Indian plum shrub as its leaves begin to yellow in mid-summer,

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References

External links

*
Jepson Manual Treatment

Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15949907, from2=Q919244 Exochordeae Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of Oregon Monotypic Rosaceae genera Plants used in Native American cuisine Dioecious plants Flora without expected TNC conservation status