* Map courtesy of WikiMedia.org, it is release under the Creative Commons License.

Prunus Emarginata

The Prunus Emarginata is commonly known as Bitter Cherry,

< Go Back

Growing Regions

Bitter cherry occurs from British Columbia and Vancouver Island south to southern California and east to Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico [50,61,120].

     

General Information

The currently accepted scientific name of bitter cherry is Prunus emarginata (Dougl.) Walp. (Rosaceae) [44,61,133]. There are two recognized varieties [44,49]: Prunus emarginata var. emarginata Prunus emarginata var. mollis (Dougl.) Brewer Bitter cherry hybridizes with pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) [120]. LIFE FORM : Tree, Shrub FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : No special status OTHER STATUS : NO-ENTRY

Bitter cherry occurs in a variety of habitats including mountain brush,
woodland, and riparian [11,17,40,77,83].  

Bitter cherry occurs in seral brushfield communities throughout the
Pacific Northwest and western Idaho.  Common associates include Rocky
mountain maple (Acer glabrum), Scouler willow (Salix scouleriana),
chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), redstem ceanothus (Ceanothus
sanguineus), deerbrush (C. integerrimus), Saskatoon serviceberry
(Amelanchier alnifolia), thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus), pachistima
(Pachistima myrsinites), and oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor)
[35,40,68,99].

In California bitter cherry occurs in yellow pine (Pinus spp.) woodlands
and giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) communities.  Common
associates include incense-cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), sugar pine
(Pinus lambertiana), Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia), Pacific dogwood
(Cornus nuttallii), California hazel (Corylus cornuta var. californica),
greenleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos patula), Parry manzanita (A.
manzanita), pinemat manzanita (A. nevadensis), and bush chinquapin
(Chrysolepsis sempervirens) [19,41,129,130].

In northern Idaho and eastern Washington bitter cherry occurs in quaking
aspen (Populus tremuloides) communities with Sitka alder (Alnus viridis
ssp. sinuata), Douglas maple (Acer glabrum var. douglasii), blue
elderberry (Sambucus cerulea), russet buffaloberry (Shepherdia
canadensis), and red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) [23,127].  

In Arizona bitter cherry is a member of interior deciduous riparian
forests dominated by sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), green ash
(Fraxinus pennsylvanica), Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii),
narrowleaf cottonwood (P. angustifolia), boxelder (Acer negundo), and
Arizona walnut (Juglans major) [11,83].

Much of the information presented here is attributed to:
Esser, Lora L. 1995. Prunus emarginata. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available at USDA Forest Service.

< Go Back