''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus'' is a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

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 ...

.'' Species of the subgenus have a single winter bud per

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

. 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 are usually in small

corymb Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial re ...

s or

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

s of several together (occasionally solitary, e.g. ''P. serrula''), but some species have short

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s (e.g. '' P. maacki''). The fruit is a

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

and has no obvious groove along the side. The subgenus is

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to the

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions of the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

, with two species in North America ('' P. emarginata'' and '' P. pensylvanica''), four in Europe ('' P. avium'', '' P. cerasus'', '' P. fruticosa'' and '' P. mahaleb''), two in North Africa (''P. avium'' and ''P. mahaleb''), and the remainder in Asia. The fresh fruits of

sweet cherry ''Prunus avium'', commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry, gean, or bird cherryWorld Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. is a species of cherry, a flowering plant in the rose family, ...

(worldwide) and

Chinese cherry ''Prunus pseudocerasus'' or ''Prunus pseudo-cerasus'', the Chinese sour cherry or just Chinese cherry, is a species of cherry native to China and is used worldwide as an ornamental for its early spring cherry blossoms. The fruits of some cultiv ...

(in China) are consumed raw. The fruits of some species such as

sour cherry ''Prunus cerasus'' (sour cherry, tart cherry, or dwarf cherry) is a species of ''Prunus'' in the subgenus '' Cerasus'' ( cherries), native to much of Europe and southwest Asia. It is closely related to the sweet cherry (''Prunus avium''), but ...

are used to make desserts, sauce, jam and wine. The seeds of

mahaleb cherry ''Prunus mahaleb'', the mahaleb cherry or St Lucie cherry, is a species of cherry tree. The tree is cultivated for a spice obtained from the seeds inside the cherry stones. The seeds have a fragrant smell and have a taste comparable to bitter alm ...

are used to make

mahleb Mahleb or Mahlepi is an aromatic spice made from the seeds of a species of cherry, ''Prunus mahaleb'' (the Mahaleb or St Lucie cherry). The cherry stones are cracked to extract the seed kernel, which is about 5 mm diameter, soft and chewy o ...

. Many species are cultivated 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 ...

, known as

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 ...

Species

Species of ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus'' are known as true cherries, which include: * ''

Prunus apetala ''Prunus apetala'' is a species of flowering cherry in the genus ''Prunus'' in the family Rosaceae. It is called clove cherry ( ja, チョウジザクラ ) because of its clovebud-shaped calyx. It is native to Japan, centered on the main island, ...

'' (Siebold & Zucc.) Franch. & Sav. – clove cherry * ''

Prunus avium ''Prunus avium'', commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry, gean, or bird cherryWorld Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. is a species of cherry, a flowering plant in the rose family, ...

'' (L.) L. – sweet cherry, wild cherry, mazzard or gean * ''

Prunus campanulata ''Prunus campanulata'' is a species of cherry native to Japan, Taiwan, southern and eastern China (Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Hunan, Fujian, and Zhejiang), and Vietnam. It is a large shrub or small tree, growing tall. It is widely grown as an ...

'' Maxim. – bell-flowered cherry, Taiwan cherry or Formosan cherry * ''

Prunus canescens ''Prunus canescens'', the gray-leaf cherry (and hoary cherry, although that name is also used for '' Prunus incana''), is a species of cherry native to China, found in Hubei and Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; ...

'' Bois. – grey-leaf cherry * '' Prunus caudata'' Franch. – caudate cherry * ''

Prunus cerasoides ''Prunus cerasoides'', called the wild Himalayan cherry and sour cherry, is a deciduous cherry tree found in East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is of the family Rosaceae and the genus ''Prunus''. Its range extends in the Himalayas fro ...

'' D. Don. – wild Himalayan cherry * '' Prunus cerasus'' L. – sour cherry * '' Prunus clarofolia'' C.K.Schneid. – shiny-leaf cherry * '' Prunus conadenia'' Koehne * '' Prunus conradinae'' Koehne * '' Prunus crataegifolia'' Hand.-Mazz. – hawthorn-leaf cherry * '' Prunus cyclamina'' Koehne – cyclamen cherry or Chinese flowering cherry * '' Prunus discadenia'' Koehne * '' Prunus discoidea'' (T.T.Yu & C.L.Li) Z.Wei & Y.B.Chang * '' Prunus dolichadenia'' Cardot * ''

Prunus emarginata ''Prunus emarginata'', the bitter cherry or Oregon cherry, is a species of ''Prunus'' native to western North America, from British Columbia south to Baja California, and east as far as western Wyoming and New Mexico. It is often found in recentl ...

'' (Douglas ex Hook.) Walp. – bitter cherry or Oregon cherry * ''

Prunus fruticosa ''Prunus fruticosa'', the European dwarf cherry, dwarf cherry, Mongolian cherry or steppe cherry is a deciduous, xerophytic, winter-hardy, cherry-bearing shrub. It is also called ground cherry and European ground cherry, but is not to be confus ...

'' Pall. – European dwarf cherry, dwarf cherry, Mongolian cherry or steppe cherry * '' Prunus hainanensis'' (G.A.Fu & Y.S.Lin) H.Yu, N.H.Xia & H.G.Ye – Hainan cherry * '' Prunus hefengensis'' (X.R.Wang & C.B.Shang) Y.H.Tong & N.H.Xia – Hefeng cherry * '' Prunus henryi'' (C.K.Schneid.) Koehne * ''

Prunus himalaica ''Prunus himalaica'' is a species of cherry native to Nepal. It is used as an ornamental elsewhere for its attractive shiny mahogany-brown bark. It prefers to grow at about 3,900m above sea level in the Himalayas. Description ''Prunus himalaic ...

'' Kitam. – Nepalese cherry * ''

Prunus incisa ''Prunus incisa'', the Fuji cherry, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, which gets its scientific name from the deep incisions on the leaves. It is an endemic species in Japan and grows wild in Kantō, Chūbu and Kinki regio ...

'' Thunb. – Fuji cherry * '' Prunus itosakura'' Siebold * ''

Prunus jamasakura ''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 ...

'' Siebold ex Koidz. – Japanese mountain cherry or Japanese hill cherry * ''

Prunus leveilleana ''Prunus leveilleana'' is a native of Korea and Japan. It generally has autumnal leaves of reddish-brown or crimson red colour. It has flowers of bright yellow-white colors. Biochemistry In this species various new flavonoid compounds have been ...

'' Koehne (syn. ''Prunus verecunda'' (Koidz.) Koehne) – Korean mountain cherry * ''

Prunus maackii ''Prunus maackii'', commonly called the Manchurian cherry or Amur chokecherry, is a species of cherry native to Korea and both banks of the Amur River, in Manchuria in northeastern China, and Amur Oblast and Primorye in southeastern Russia.Flora ...

'' Rupr. (syn. ''Prunus glandulifolia'' Rupr. & Maxim.) – Manchurian cherry * ''

Prunus mahaleb ''Prunus mahaleb'', the mahaleb cherry or St Lucie cherry, is a species of cherry tree. The tree is cultivated for a spice obtained from the seeds inside the cherry stones. The seeds have a fragrant smell and have a taste comparable to bitter almo ...

'' L. – Saint Lucie cherry, rock cherry, perfumed cherry or mahaleb cherry * '' Prunus matuurai'' Sasaki – Taiping Mountain cherry * '' Prunus maximowiczii'' Rupr. – Miyama cherry or Korean cherry * '' Prunus mugus'' Hand.-Mazz. * ''

Prunus nipponica ''Prunus nipponica'', also called , is a shrub which originates from the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu, Japan. It grows to a height of about and can grow in sandy, loamy, and clay soils. This species is one of the hardiest of cherry trees, wel ...

'' Matsum. – Takane cherry, peak cherry or Japanese alpine cherry * '' Prunus pananensis'' Z.L.Chen, W.J.Chen & X.F.Jin – Pan'an cherry * ''

Prunus patentipila ''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 ...

'' Hand.-Mazz. * '' Prunus pensylvanica'' L.f. – pin cherry, fire cherry, or wild red cherry * '' Prunus pleiocerasus'' Koehne * '' Prunus polytricha'' Koehne * ''

Prunus pseudocerasus ''Prunus pseudocerasus'' or ''Prunus pseudo-cerasus'', the Chinese sour cherry or just Chinese cherry, is a species of cherry native to China and is used worldwide as an ornamental for its early spring cherry blossoms. The fruits of some cultiva ...

'' Lindl. – Chinese cherry or Chinese sour cherry * '' Prunus pusilliflora'' Cardot * ''

Prunus rufa ''Prunus rufa'', called Himalayan cherry, is a species of cherry native to Nepal and Burma. It is used as an ornamental elsewhere for its striking shiny brown bark. It has been found growing at above sea level in the Himalayas. Description ''P ...

'' Wall ex Hook.f. – Himalayan cherry * ''

Prunus rufoides ''Prunus rufoides'' (syn. ''Prunus dielsiana''), called Diel's cherry, the tawny bark cherry, and in , the tailed-leaf cherry, is a species of cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone ...

'' C.K.Schneid. (syn. ''Prunus dielsiana'' C.K. Schneid.) – tailed-leaf cherry * ''

Prunus sargentii ''Prunus sargentii'', commonly known as Sargent's cherry or North Japanese hill cherry, is a species of cherry native to Japan, Korea, and Sakhalin (Russia). The tree was named for Charles Sprague Sargent. Description ''Prunus sargentii'' is ...

'' Rehder – northern Japanese hill cherry, northern Japanese mountain cherry or Sargent's cherry * '' Prunus schneideriana'' Koehne * ''

Prunus serrula ''Prunus serrula'', called birch bark cherry, birchbark cherry, paperbark cherry, or Tibetan cherry, is a species of cherry native to China, and is used as an ornamental in many parts of the world for its striking coppery-red bark. Description ...

'' Franch. – paperbark cherry, birch bark cherry or Tibetan cherry * '' Prunus serrulata'' Lindl. – Japanese cherry, hill cherry, Oriental cherry or East Asian cherry * '' Prunus shikokuensis'' (Moriya) H.Kubota – Shikoku cherry * ''

Prunus speciosa ''Prunus speciosa'', the Oshima cherry, Japanese オオシマザクラ (Oshima zakura), is native to Izu Ōshima island and the Izu Peninsula on Honshū near Tokyo, Japan.Bean, W. J. (1980). ''Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles'' 8th ed. ...

'' (Koidz.) Ingram – Oshima cherry * '' Prunus stipulacea'' Maxim. * '' Prunus sunhangii'' D.G.Zhang & T.Deng * '' Prunus szechuanica'' Batalin – Sichuan cherry * '' Prunus takasagomontana'' Sasaki * ''

Prunus takesimensis ''Prunus takesimensis'' ( ko, 섬벚나무, lit=island cherry) is a species of cherry endemic to Ulleung Island, South Korea. A tree reaching 20m, it is used as an ornamental. Morphologically it most closely resembles ''Prunus sargentii'' but i ...

'' Nakai – Ulleungdo cherry * '' Prunus tatsienensis'' Batalin – Kangding cherry * '' Prunus transarisanensis'' Hayata – Alishan cherry * '' Prunus trichantha'' Koehne * '' Prunus trichostoma'' Koehne * '' Prunus veitchii'' Koehne () * ''

Prunus xingshanensis ''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 paleo ...

'' Huan C.Wang – Xingshan cherry * '' Prunus yaoiana'' (W.L.Cheng) Y.H.Tong & N.H.Xia * '' Prunus yunnanensis'' Franch. – Yunnan cherry

Nothospecies #REDIRECT Hybrid name In botanical nomenclature, a hybrid may be given a hybrid name, which is a special kind of botanical name, but there is no requirement that a hybrid name should be created for plants that are believed to be of hybrid origin. ...

in this subgenus include: * ''Prunus'' × ''chichibuensis'' H.Kubota & Moriya – Chichibu cherry * ''Prunus'' × ''compta'' (Koidz.) Tatew. * ''Prunus'' × ''dawyckensis'' Sealy * ''Prunus'' × ''eminens'' Beck * ''Prunus'' × ''fontanesiana'' (Spach) C.K.Schneid. * ''Prunus'' × ''furuseana'' Ohwi * ''Prunus'' × ''gondouinii'' (Poit. & Turpin) Rehder * ''Prunus'' × ''hisauchiana'' Koidz. ex Hisauti * ''Prunus'' × ''incam'' Ingram ex R.T.Olsen & Whittem. * ''Prunus'' × ''javorkae'' Kárpáti * ''Prunus'' × ''juddii'' E.S.Anderson * ''Prunus'' × ''kanzakura'' Makino * ''Prunus'' × ''kubotana'' Kawas. * ''Prunus'' × ''lannesiana'' (Carrière) E.H.Wilson * ''Prunus'' × ''mitsuminensis'' Moriya * ''Prunus'' × ''miyasakana'' H.Kubota * ''Prunus'' × ''mohacsyana'' Kárpáti * ''Prunus'' × ''nudiflora'' (Koehne) Koidz. * ''Prunus'' × ''oneyamensis'' Hayashi * ''Prunus'' × ''parvifolia'' (Matsum.) Koehne – small-leaved cherry * ''Prunus'' × ''pugetensis'' Jacobson & Zika – Puget Sound cherry * ''Prunus'' × ''sacra'' Miyoshi * ''Prunus'' × ''schmittii'' Rehder * ''Prunus'' × ''sieboldii'' (Carrière) Wittm. * ''Prunus'' × ''stacei'' Wójcicki * ''Prunus'' × ''subhirtella'' Miq. – Higan cherry or spring cherry * ''Prunus'' × ''syodoi'' Nakai * ''Prunus'' × ''tschonoskii'' Koehne * ''Prunus'' × ''yedoensis'' Matsum. – Yoshino cherry or Tokyo cherry * ''Prunus'' × ''yuyamae'' Sugim. Many ''

'' species are called "

cherries A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

" but not included in this subgenus. They are not considered true cherries. Examples are: * Bush cherries which have three winter buds per axil, such as Oriental bush cherry ( ''P. japonica''), humble bush cherry ( ''P. humilis''), Nanking cherry ( ''P. tomentosa'') and prostrate cherry ( ''P. prostrata''), are now included in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus''. Sand cherry ( ''P. pumila'') also belongs to ''P.'' subg. ''Prunus.'' * Bird cherries (e.g. ''P. padus'', '' P. grayana, P. napaulensis, P. ssiori''), chokecherry ( ''P. virginiana''), black cherry ( ''P. serotina''), cherry laurels (e.g. ''P. laurocerasus'', ''P. myrtifolia'', '' P. pleuradenia''), holyleaf cherry ( ''P. ilicifolia'') and Catalina cherry (''P. i.'' subsp. ''lyonii'') whose flowers and fruits are borne on racemes belong to ''P.'' subg. ''Padus''. * The phylogenetic position of African cherry ('' P. africana'') is still uncertain, but it is definitely not a true cherry species.

Notes

References

External links

Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) (trees/handbook Chokecherry III-13, ''www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu'')
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2946681 Cerasus Cherries Plant subgenera