A large, reddish globular fruit with a smooth skin and succulent flesh surrounding a stone that encloses the seed.
Seeds:
Bitter.
Roots:
Key Characters:
Biology:
Life cycle:
Deciduous, perennial tree.
Physiology:
Higher chilling requirement than most stone fruit.
Buds susceptible to cold injury, especially in spring.
Drought and frost sensitive.
Reproduction:
By seed and cuttings.
Flowering times:
Spring.
Seed Biology and Germination:
Vegetative Propagules:
Stem fragments and cuttings.
Hybrids:
Many cultivars including Goldmine, Masterpiece, Nectared, Independence, Maygrand, Firebrite, Flavortop, Redgold, Fantasia, and Fairlane.
Allelopathy:
Population Dynamics and Dispersal:
Spread mainly by intentional planting.
Origin and History:
Europe.
Distribution:
ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA.
Habitats:
Climate:
Warm to cool temperate regions with winter rainfall. Mediterranean. Requires annual rainfall of more than 635 mm unless it is irrigated.
Soil:
Prefers sandy to loamy well drained soils with a high organic matter content and no free lime.
Plant Associations:
Significance:
Beneficial:
Popular fruit tree.
Detrimental:
Toxicity:
Cyanide is in the leaves, flowers, bark and kernels of the seed. Young leaves and the kernels appear to have greatest toxicity. A few cases of poisoning have been reported in Australia.
Symptoms:
HCN toxicity.
Legislation:
None.
Management and Control:
Thresholds:
Eradication strategies:
Herbicide resistance:
Biological Control:
Main pests are Two Spotted Mite, Green Peach Aphid, Oriental Fruit Moth, Light Brown Apple Moth, San Jose Scale, Peach Silver Mite.
Diseases include Brown Rot, Transit Rot, Crown Gall, Silverleaf, Curl Leaf, Peach Leaf Curl, Prune Rust.
Related plants:
Almond (Prunus amygdalus, Prunus dulcis or Prunus communis)
American Red Plum (Prunus americana)
Apricot (Prunus armeniaca)
Bird Cherry (Prunus padus)
Bullace (Prunus insititia)
Catalina Cherry (Prunus lyonii)
Cherry (Prunus avium)
Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)
Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera)
Chinese Cherry (Prunus japonica)
Chinese Flowering Almond (Prunus glandulosa)
Chokecherry or Virginian Bird Cherry (Prunus virginiana)
Flowering Almond (Prunus triloba)
Fuji Cherry (Prunus incisa)
Goose Plum (Prunus hortulana)
Holy-leaved Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia)
Japanese Apricot (Prunus mume)
Japanese Cherry (Prunus sargentii)
Japanese Flowering Cherry (Prunus serrulata)
Japanese Plum (Prunus salicina)
Manchurian Cherry (Prunus maakii)
Nectarine (Prunus persica var. nectarina)
Peach (Prunus persica var. persica)
Perfumed Cherry or St Lucia Cherry (Prunus mahaleb)
Pin Cherry or Wild Cherry (Prunus pennsylvanica)
Plum (Prunus X domestica or Prunus spinosa)
Portugal Laurel (Prunus lusitanica)
Rosebud Cherry (Prunus subhirtella)
Sour Cherry (Prunus cerasus)
Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium)
Taiwan Cherry (Prunus campanulata)
Wild Cherry (Prunus serotina)
Yoshino Cherry (Prunus yedoensis)
Plants of similar appearance:
References:
Everist, S.L. (1974). Poisonous Plants of Australia. (Angus and Robertson, Sydney). P608.
Reid, R.L. (1990) The Manual of Australian Agriculture. (Butterworths, Sydney). P182-183.
Acknowledgments:
Collated by HerbiGuide. Phone 08 98444064 or www.herbiguide.com.au for more information.