''Prunus gentryi'' is a species of wild
cherry in the genus ''
Prunus
''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, Cherry, cherries, peaches, Peach#Nectarine, nectarines, apricots, and almonds.
Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of Sou ...
'', family
Rosaceae, native to the Mexican states of
Chihuahua and
Sonora. It grows along streambanks in mountainous regions of the
Sierra Madre Occidental
The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American ...
. The scientific description was published in 1937.
Description
''Prunus gentryi'' is a tree up to tall. The
leaves are thick and leathery, dark green above and lighter below. The fruits are juicy and edible, generally purple although a yellow-fruited form, ''Prunus gentryi'' forma ''flavipulpa'', is known from the State of Chihuahua.
Uses
The Mountain Pima (=
Pima Bajo) of the region near Yepachic, Chihuahua, call the tree and its fruits "aguasiqui." The fruits are a prized food, ripening in late summer.
[Laferrière, Joseph E., Charles W. Weber and Edwin A. Kohlhepp. 1991. Use and nutritional composition of some traditional Mountain Pima plant foods. Journal of Ethnobiology 11(1):93-114.]
References
External links
photo herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Chihuahua in 1936, isotype of ''Prunus gentryi''photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Chihuahua in 1988, isotype of forma ''flavipulpa'', including color photo of fresh fruits
gentryi
Plants described in 1937
Flora of Chihuahua (state)
Flora of Sonora
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