Prunus subhirtella Miq.
Detail
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Botanical Name
- Prunus subhirtella Miq.
- Common Name
- Spring Cherry, Higan Cherry, Winter-flowering Cherry
- Synonym(s)
- Flora of Virginia Name/Status
- Prunus subhirtella Miquel
- Comments
- Native small tree of e. Asia, commonly cultivated and escaped; its gold-colored bark and finely and sharply serrate, acuminate leaves are distinctive. Considered by some to be a hybrid of unknown origin. The weeping form, var. pendula, is most frequently encountered in cultivation. Recently discovered to be rampantly invasive and widely naturalizing in relatively undisturbed forests of the Potomac River valley west of Washington, D.C. Also established in the Charlottesville, Richmond and Farmville areas, and increasingly being documented in more remote localities. The current map no doubt under-represents the true extent of this invasive tree.
- Habitat
- Mesic and dry-mesic upland forests, forest borders, old fields, and fencerows; Infrequent, with most documented populations in the n. and c. Piedmont, but rapidly spreading. This tree is quite shade-tolerant in successional woodlands and understories of more mature, mesic upland forests, and is reproducing abundantly in some localities. The seeds are dispersed by birds.
- Native Status
- Introduced
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