''Prunus ursina'' (bear's plum, ) is a species of ''

prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the p ...

'' native to the woods of

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. Some sources include this species in '' Prunus cocomilia''.

Etymology

''Prunus'', from the Latin "prūnus" which is a loan from Greek (προῦνον, prounon) means plum tree. ''Ursina'' derives from "ursus", a bear, referring to one of a bear's favorite foods.

Description

''Prunus ursina'' is a deciduous shrub to a small tree, reaching 4 to 8 meters in height; it is highly branched and the branches sometimes bear spines. The twigs are velvety and the leaves are

ovate Ovate may refer to: *Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe *Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd *Vates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ovat ...

to oblong. ''Prunus ursina'' produces white hermaphrodite flowers in pairs during the spring. Its 2-to-3 cm unpalatable fruit is globose and turns yellow to dark orange when ripe but may be toxic if consumed excessively.

Uses

The fuit can be used to obtain a dark grey to green dye and a green dye can be obtained from the leaves. Plants in the ''Prunus'' species contain

amygdalin Amygdalin (from Ancient Greek: ' "almond") is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in many plants, most notably in the seeds (kernels) of apricots, bitter almonds, apples, peaches, cherries, and plums. Amygdalin is classified as a cy ...

and

prunasin (''R'')-prunasin is a cyanogenic glycoside related to amygdalin. Chemically, it is the glucoside of (''R'')-mandelonitrile. Natural occurrences Prunasin is found in species in the genus ''Prunus'' such as ''Prunus japonica'' or '' P. maximowicz ...

, substances which break down in water to produce

hydrogen cyanide Hydrogen cyanide, sometimes called prussic acid, is a chemical compound with the formula HCN and structure . It is a colorless, extremely poisonous, and flammable liquid that boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is produced on an ...

. Hydrogen cyanide is a colorless, extremely poisonous chemical that gives almonds their characteristic flavour. These substances are found mainly in the leaves and seed and can be detected by the bitter taste. It is usually present in too small a quantity to do any harm but any very bitter seed or fruit should not be eaten. Consumption of small quantities of hydrogen cyanide stimulates respiration and improves digestion. Excessive consumption of the toxin can cause respiratory failure and death.

Cultivation

''Prunus ursina'' fruits better in full sun but is still successful in partial shade. The tree will form suckers if its shallow roots are damaged. Among the pests that affect the genus ''Prunus'' is

honey fungus ''Armillaria'' is a genus of fungi that includes the '' A. mellea'' species known as honey fungi that live on trees and woody shrubs. It includes about 10 species formerly categorized summarily as ''A. mellea''. ''Armillarias'' are long-l ...

. The seed requires two–three (2–3) months cold stratification in order to germinate.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q16967862, from2=Q2715447 ursina Flora of Lebanon and Syria Flora of Palestine (region) Flora of Turkey