Prunus subg. Padus
Prunus subg. Padus, the bird cherries, is a subgenus of Prunus, characterised by having deciduous leaves, flowers 12–30 together on slender racemes produced in late spring well after leaf emergence, and small, sour fruit usually only palatable to birds, hence the name. They are native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere.
| Bird cherries | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prunus virginiana | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Genus: | Prunus |
| Subgenus: | Prunus subg. Padus (Mill.) Turcz. |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
Bird cherries are sometimes used as food plants by Lepidoptera species, including the brimstone moth.
Some bird cherries, such as chokecherries, are used to make jelly and wine in North America.[1]
Some botanists treated the subgenus as a distinct genus Padus. Genetic and morphological studies have shown that Padus is polyphyletic, so should not be used as a taxon name.[2]
Species
- Prunus buergeriana – Japanese bird cherry or lin mu, eastern Asia
- Prunus cornuta – Himalayan bird cherry, Himalaya
- Prunus grayana – Gray's bird cherry, Japan
- Prunus maackii – Manchurian cherry or Amur chokecherry, northeast Asia
- Prunus napaulensis
- Prunus padus – bird cherry or European bird cherry, Europe and western Asia
- Prunus padus var. commutata – Asian bird cherry, eastern Asia
- Prunus serotina – black cherry, North America
- Prunus ssiori – Hokkaido bird cherry, Hokkaidō
- Prunus virginiana – chokecherry, North America
- Prunus wilsonii
Culture
In Finland and Sweden, the blooming of bird cherry (Prunus padus, Finnish tuomi) signifies the start of the summer for many people. In southern Finland, this normally takes place during the two last weeks of May or very early June.
References
- https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Prunus+padus
- Liu, Xiao-Lin; Wen, Jun; Nie, Ze-Long; Johnson, Gabriel; Liang, Zong-Suo; Chang, Zhao-Yang (14 December 2012). "Polyphyly of the Padus group of Prunus (Rosaceae) and the evolution of biogeographic disjunctions between eastern Asia and eastern North America". Journal of Plant Research. 126 (3): 351–361. doi:10.1007/s10265-012-0535-1. PMID 23239308. S2CID 5991106.