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Cerasus polygyna

Interesting Facts

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Description

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Family Rosaceae

Trees , shrubs , or herbs, deciduous or evergreen . Stems erect , scandent , arching , prostrate , or creeping , armed or unarmed . Buds usually with several exposed scales , sometimes with only 2. Leaves alternate, rarely opposite, simple or compound ; stipules paired , free or adnate to petiole , rarely absent, persistent or deciduous; petiole usually 2-glandular apically; leaf blade often serrate at margin , rarely entire. Inflorescences various, from single flowers to umbellate , corymbose , racemose or cymose-paniculate. Flowers usually actinomorphic , bisexual , rarely unisexual and then plants dioecious. Hypanthium (formed from basal parts of sepals, petals, and stamens) free from or adnate to ovary, short or elongate . Sepals usually 5, rarely fewer or more, imbricate; epicalyx segments sometimes also present. Petals as many as sepals, inserted below margin of disk, free, imbricate, sometimes absent. Disk lining hypanthium, usually entire, rarely lobed . Stamens usually numerous , rarely few, always in a complete ring at margin of or above disk; filaments usually free, very rarely connate ; anthers small, didymous , rarely elongate, 2-locular. Carpels 1 to many, free, or ± connate and then adnate to inner surface of cupular receptacle; ovary inferior, semi-inferior, or superior; ovules usually 2 in each carpel, rarely 1 or several, anatropous , superposed . Styles as many as carpels, terminal , lateral , or basal, free or sometimes connate. Fruit a follicle, pome, achene, or drupe, rarely a capsule, naked or enclosed in persistent hypanthium and sometimes also by sepals. Seeds erect or pendulous, sometimes winged , usually exalbuminous , very rarely with thin endosperm; cotyledons mostly fleshy and convex abaxially, rarely folded or convolute.

Between 95 and 125 genera and 2825-3500 species: cosmopolitan , mostly in N temperate zone; 55 genera (two endemic) and 950 species (546 endemic) in China.

Many plants of this family are of economic importance and contribute to people s livelihoods. The Rosaceae contain a great number of fruit trees of temperate regions . The fruits contain vitamins, acids, and sugars and can be used both raw and for making preserves, jam, jelly, candy, various drinks, wine, vinegar, etc. The dried fruits of the genera

Amygdalus and Armeniaca are of high commercial value. Some plants in the genus Rosa containing essential oils or with a high vitamin content are used in industry . Rosaceae wood is used for making various articles, stems and roots are used for making tannin extract, and young leaves are used as a substitute for tea. Numerous species are used for medical purposes or are cultivated as ornamentals .

The Rosaceae are very well represented in China, with great economic and scientific importance. The Co-chairs of the Editorial Committee (Wu and Raven) here note that the patterns of relationship are complex and the group is taxonomically difficult. [1]

Genus Cerasus

Trees or shrubs , deciduous. Branches unarmed . Axillary winter buds 1 or 3, lateral buds flower buds, central bud a leaf bud ; terminal winter buds present. Stipules soon caducous , margin serrulate , teeth often gland-tipped. Leaves simple , alternate or fascicled on short branchlets , conduplicate when young; petiole usually with 2 apical nectaries or nectaries sometimes at base of leaf blade margin; leaf blade margin singly or doubly serrate, rarely serrulate. Inflorescences axillary, fasciculate-corymbose or 1-or 2-flowered, base often with an involucre formed by floral bud scales. Flowers opening before or at same time as leaves, pedicellate , with persistent scales or conspicuous bracts. Hypanthium campanulate or tubular . Sepals 5, reflexed or erect . Petals 5, white or pink. Stamens 15-50, inserted on or near rim of hypanthium. Carpel 1. Ovary superior, 1-loculed, hairy or glabrous ; ovules 2, collateral , pendulous. Style terminal, elongated, hairy or glabrous; stigma emarginate . Fruit a drupe, glabrous, not glaucous, without a longitudinal groove . Mesocarp succulent, not splitting when ripe ; endocarp globose to ovoid , smooth or ± rugose .

About 150 species: temperate Asia, Europe, North America; 43 species (29 endemic, five introduced ).

Many species of cherry are cultivated for their edible fruit or as garden ornamentals .[2]

Taxonomy

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Notes

Publishing author : DC. ex Ser. Publication : Prodr. (DC.) 2: 537 1825 [mid Nov 1825]

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 2009

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Cerasus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 2 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

C. campanulata (Formosan Cherry) · C. maximowiczii (Miyama Cherry)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Cuizhi Gu, Chaoluan Li, Lingdi Lu, Shunyuan Jiang, Crinan Alexander, Bruce Bartholomew, Anthony R. Brach, David E. Boufford, Hiroshi Ikeda, Hideaki Ohba, Kenneth R. Robertson & Steven A. Spongberg "Rosaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 9 Page 46. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Li Chao-luang, Jiang Shunyuan, Bruce Bartholomew "Cerasus". in Flora of China Vol. 9 Page 404. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/22/2012