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Prunus apetala (Sieb. & Zucc.) Franch. & Sav.

Modern name

Prunus apetala (Siebold & Zucc.) Franch & Sav.

Synonyms

Ceraseidos apetala Sieb. & Zucc.; P. tschonoskii Koehne

A small deciduous tree or (more often) a bush up to 16 ft high; young shoots hairy, slender. Leaves mostly obovate, with a slender, tail-like apex, tapering and often rounded at the base, conspicuously doubly-toothed, 2 to 4 in. long, 1 to 112 in. wide, hairy on both sides, especially below; stalk 14 to 12 in. long, very hairy. Flowers produced during May singly or in pairs, each on its slender hairy stalk 12 to 34 in. long. The small white or pink petals very soon fall, and such little beauty as the flower possesses is in the calyx and stamens, which become purplish red. The calyx-tube is cylindrical, downy, 38 in. long, the lobes ovate, 12 in. long. Fruits roundish-oval, black, 38 in. long, the stalk elongated to 1 or 138 in.

Native of Japan; introduced by Wilson in 1914. The leaves of this cherry are rather handsome and distinct in the long, tail-like point and in their hairiness. The most marked character of the species, however, is the persistent, coloured calyx and stamen filaments. In the style of the toothing of the leaves it has some resemblance to P. incisa and P. nipponica.


Genus

Prunus

Other species in the genus