''Prunus grayana'' (
syn. ''Padus grayana'' (
Maxim.)
C.K.Schneid., ''Prunus padus''
var. ''japonica''
Miq.
Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel (24 October 1811 – 23 January 1871) was a Dutch botanist, whose main focus of study was on the flora of the Dutch East Indies.
Early life
Miquel was born in Neuenhaus and studied medicine at the University of Groni ...
; Japanese bird cherry or Gray's bird cherry; Japanese ; Chinese ) is a species of
bird cherry native to
Japan and
China, occurring at medium altitudes of 1,000–3,800 m in 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 ...
zone. It prefers sunshine and moist (but drained) soil.
[Flora of China]
''Padus grayana''
/ref>[Japanese Tree Encyclopedia]
Uwamizuzakura ''Prunus grayana''
/ref>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 ...
reaching a height of 8–20 m. The trunk is slender with smooth grey to purple-grey bark marked with horizontal brown lenticels, with a strong smell when cut. The leaves are elliptical to ovoid, 4–10 cm long and 1.8–4.5 cm broad, with a serrated margin with aristate tips to the serrations. The lowest teeth of a leaf feature two glands. 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 produced on 5–8 cm long racemes, each flower 7–10 mm diameter, with five white petals; they are hermaphroditic
In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes.
Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have s ...
, and appear in mid-spring after the leaves. 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 drupe, about 8 mm in diameter, green at first, then red and finally ripening black in mid summer.[Botanic Japan]
''Prunus grayana''
(in Japanese
[Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan .]
It is very closely related to '' Prunus padus'' (Bird cherry), differing in the aristate tips to the leaf serration (blunt-pointed in ''P. padus''), and the longer style
Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to:
* Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable
* Design, the process of creating something
* Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...
in the flower.[Flora of China]
''Padus''
/ref>
Uses
The flowers, fruit and seed are all edible and are prepared and eaten in Japan. The fruit can be preserved with salt to make a dish called Anningo. The bark and roots are the source of a green dye. The wood is very hard and splits easily. It is used in various cabinet-making and various other ornamental applications.[
]
Classification
The taxon was described in 1864 by Miquel as ''Prunus padus'' var. ''japonica'', on the basis of specimens collected by Siebold. After a review of the previous literature, Maximowicz in St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
decided in 1883[ For the details of the publication including the dates of the volumes and the reprint of the article in ''Mélange ...'' see ] the tree was a distinct species, and named it ''Prunus grayana'' after Asa Gray.
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2700694
Bird cherries
grayana
Flora of Asia
Flora of China
Flora of Japan
Plants described in 1883