Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Rosales > Rosaceae > Oemleria > Oemleria cerasiformis

Oemleria cerasiformis (Osoberry)

Synonyms:

Wikipedia Abstract

Oemleria cerasiformis, a shrub commonly known as osoberry or Indian plum, is the sole species in genus Oemleria. Native to the Pacific coast and ranges of North America, from British Columbia, Canada to Santa Barbara County, California, U.S.A., it is among the first plants to leaf out and flowers early in the spring. It reaches a height of 1.5–5 m and has lance-shaped leaves 5–12 cm long.
View Wikipedia Record: Oemleria cerasiformis

Attributes

Allergen Potential [1]  Medium-Low
Screening - Summer [2]  Dense
Screening - Winter [2]  Porous
Bloom Period [2]  Spring
Drought Tolerance [2]  Low
Edible [3]  May be edible. See the Plants For A Future link below for details.
Flower Type [3]  Dioecious
Frost Free Days [2]  6 months 27 days
Growth Form [2]  Multiple Stem
Growth Rate [2]  Rapid
Hazards [3]  Although no specific mention has been found for this plant. it belongs to a family where the leaves, seed (and sometimes also the fruit) often contain significant amounts of hydrogen cyanide. This is the toxin that gives almonds their characteristic flavour and it should only be eaten in very small quantities. Since the fruit of this species is said to have almond-scented fruit it would be unwise to eat a large quantity of it. In small quantities, hydrogen cyanide has been shown to stimulate respiration and improve digestion, it is also claimed to be of benefit in the treatment of cancer. In excess, however, it can cause respiratory failure and even death.
Leaf Type [3]  Deciduous
Lifespan [2]  Perennial
Pollinators [3]  Insects, Lepidoptera
Propagation [2]  Bare Root, Container, Cutting, Seed
Seed Spread Rate [2]  Rapid
Seeds Per [2]  3215 / lb (7088 / kg)
Shape/Orientation [2]  Erect
Structure [3]  Shrub
Flower Color [2]  White
Foliage Color [2]  Green
Fruit Color [2]  Purple
Fall Conspicuous [2]  Yes
Flower Conspicuous [2]  Yes
Fruit Conspicuous [2]  Yes
Height [3]  8.2 feet (2.5 m)
Width [3]  13.12 feet (4 m)
Hardiness Zone Minimum [2]  USDA Zone: 9 Low Temperature: 20 F° (-6.7 C°) → 30 F° (-1.1 C°)
Light Preference [2]  Mixed Sun/Shade
Soil Acidity [2]  Neutral
View Plants For A Future Record : Oemleria cerasiformis

Protected Areas

Name IUCN Category Area acres Location Species Website Climate Land Use
Burnham Beeches 946 England, United Kingdom  
H.J. Andrews Biosphere Reserve 15815 Oregon, United States
Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Reserve 293047 British Columbia, Canada  
Olympic Biosphere Reserve II 922805 Washington, United States

Predators

External References

USDA Plant Profile

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Derived from Allergy-Free Gardening OPALS™, Thomas Leo Ogren (2000)
♦ 2USDA Plants Database, U. S. Department of Agriculture
♦ 3Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 4HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0