Prunus × eminens

Prunus × eminens or Prunus eminens is a species of small cherry tree native to central Europe.[lower-alpha 1] It is a naturally occurring hybrid of sour cherry, Prunus cerasus, and dwarf cherry, Prunus fruticosa, occasionally found where their ranges overlap. Like its parents, it is a tetraploid with 32 chromosomes. It is forming a hybrid swarm with, and threatening to extirpate, P. fruticosa in much of its western range through genetic pollution.[4]

Prunus × eminens
Prunus × eminens 'Umbraculifera' in bloom at the Buda Arboretum in Hungary
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Tribe: Amygdaleae
Genus: Prunus
Species:
P. × eminens
Binomial name
Prunus × eminens
Synonyms
  • Cerasus × eminens (Beck) Buia
  • Cerasus eminens (G.Beck) Buia
  • Cerasus eminens (G.Beck) J.Dostál
  • Cerasus intermedia Loisel.
  • Cerasus klokovii Sobko[2]
  • Prunus × javorkae Kárpáti[2]
  • Cerasus × javorkae [3]

Description

It is difficult to distinguish P. × eminens from P. fruticosa based on vegetative characters alone. This task is made even more complicated by the high level of genetic introgression from P. × eminens to P. fruticosa, such that pure specimens of P. fruticosa might not be available for comparison.[4] It is a small tree, usually 3 to 5 m tall, with very rare specimens reaching 7 m. The crown is spherical. The white flowers are about 1.5 cm wide, and the fruits are a crimson red. The small ovate leaves turn a vibrant orange in the fall.

Distribution and habitat

P. × eminens takes after P. fruticosa in preferring open, steppe-like habitat, although it also grows in forest edges. In the wild it is chiefly found in central Europe, in the western part of the range of P. fruticosa and largely over-lapping and supplanting it there.[4]

Cultivation

Canadian researchers have crossed the parent species and selected the offspring to create cultivars which are marketed as Mongolian cherry[lower-alpha 2] or dwarf sour cherry by commercial nurseries. A further backcross of P. cerasus with P. × eminens has yielded a cultivar dubbed 'SK Carmine Jewel', with follow-on cultivars 'Crimson Passion', 'Juliet' and 'Romeo', which produce cherries at the northernmost limits of viable Prunus production. These cultivars have a tidy spherical growth habit, are very cold hardy (to USDA Hardiness Zone 4a or better), and their high sugar content fruit makes good pies, jams and jellies.[5][6] A cultivar named Prunus × eminens 'Umbraculifera', with a slightly weeping form when mature, is commercially available as an ornamental.[7][lower-alpha 3] Unlike the agricultural cultivars, 'Umbraculifera' is not a heavy fruit producer, but produces sufficient pollen to be useful for honey production.

Uses

Some tests have been conducted to assay its usefulness as a dwarfing rootstock for other Prunus species. The small size and spherical growth form of P. × eminens 'Umbraculifera', and its autumn finery and cold hardiness make it useful as a street tree. It does well in containers and on green roofs. It is planted in cities from Sweden to Hungary and Ukraine. Commercial nurseries graft the compact spherical crowns to other Prunus stems to produce taller standard forms with a lollipop-like appeal.

Notes
  1. in German it is called mittlere Weichsel, meaning "semisour cherry", and in Hungarian it called gömbmeggy meaning "ball cherry" or gömb csepleszmeggy meaning "ball drooping cherry"
  2. Prunus fruticosa is also called Mongolian cherry
  3. some sources opine that the ornamental cultivar called Prunus fruticosa 'Globosa' is a synonym of Prunus × eminens 'Umbraculifera'

References
  1. Fl. Nieder-Österreich 2(2 part 1):821. 1893
  2. Wójcicki, Jan J.; Marhold, Karol (January 1993). "Variability, hybridization and distribution of Prunus fruticosa (Rosaceae) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia". Polish Botanical Studies. 5: 9–24. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  3. (Kárpáti) Soó
  4. Musilová, Lenka (2013). Riziko hybridizace ohrožené třešně křovité (Prunus fruticosa) s pěstovanými zástupci rodu Prunus [Assessing the threat of hybridization between Prunus fruticosa and cultivated Prunus species] (PDF) (Thesis) (in Czech). Charles University in Prague. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  5. Janick, Jules; Paull, Robert E. (March 2008). The Encyclopedia of Fruit & Nuts. Cabi. p. 732. ISBN 9780851996387.
  6. "Canadian Dwarf Sour Cherries – Prunus x kerrasis". Fruit Index. North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. Retrieved 20 December 2020. …will probably be named Prunus × kerrasis to honor the work of Dr. Kerr.
  7. "Prunus x eminens 'Umbraculifera' (Dwarf sour cherry 'Umbraculifera')". Shoot. Shoot Limited. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
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