''Prunus prostrata'' (mountain, rock, creeping, spreading or prostrate cherry) is a hardy alpine shrub found naturally above about 2000 m. up to as high as 4000 m. in

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, Syria,

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. It grows as tall as 1 m., more typically 0.15-0.30 m., sometimes in the crevices of vertical surfaces. The branches tend to follow the surface at any angle. Flowering patches of the plant on the rocky slopes, sometimes still snow-clad, are striking to climbers. The bark is reddish brown. The leaves are ovate, with serrate margins,

tomentose Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a pl ...

with white down on undersurface,

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

above. The petioles lack glands. The

flowers 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 mechanism ...

are an unusual light rose color, coming out in April–May, solitary or in pairs, nearly sessile, with a tubular calyx. There are 22-24 stamens. The fruit is red, ovate, with thin flesh, ripening in July.

Uses

The fruit is edible but not preferred by humans. The plant's main use is as in ornamental gardening. It can be grafted to form a tree.

Classification

The name ''Prunus prostrata'' was assigned by

Jacques Labillardière Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (28 October 1755 – 8 January 1834) was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the La Pérouse expedition. He pub ...

, the French botanist, in ''Icones plantarum Syriae rariorum'', published on his return from a plant-hunting expedition to the Middle East. Prostrata means "lying on the ground", referring to the plant's ground-hugging propensity, a mechanical necessity at high altitude. A prostrate branch bends back to the ground.

Palaeobotanical evidence

A recent study of pollen and other microfossils from a

core sample A core sample is a cylindrical section of (usually) a naturally-occurring substance. Most core samples are obtained by drilling with special drills into the substance, such as sediment or rock, with a hollow steel tube, called a core drill. The ...

taken in an intermontane valley of the

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mountains in southern

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finds ''P. prostrata'' in a "''Prunus'' type" located in two radiocarbon-dated zones from about 2630 BP to about 1550 BP and again from about 790 BP to present.For simplicity the tolerances have not been repeated here. "Present" is 1955/1956 AD. The ecology of the ''Prunus'' type was "high-altitude open pine forest." The core goes back to 8320 BP, but there is no evidence if ''Prunus'' in it before 2630.

References

External links

* * * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q1258395, from2=Q15535873 prostrata prostrata Flora of Southeastern Europe Flora of North Africa Flora of Western Asia Taxa named by Jacques Labillardière