Oemleria

Oemleria
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Subfamily:	Prunoideae or Spiraeoideae [1]
Genus:	Oemleria
Species:	O. cerasiformis
Binomial name
Oemleria cerasiformis (Torr. & Gray ex Hook. & Arn.) Landon

Oemleria cerasiformis, also known as the Osoberry and Indian Plum, is the sole species in genus Oemleria. It is a shrub native to the Pacific coast and ranges of North America, from British Columbia, Canada to Santa Barbara County, California, U.S.A.^[2] 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. Native Americans eat them, make tea of the bark, and chew its twigs to use as a mild anesthetic and aphrodisiac.^[3]

character	description[4]
Leaf	Alternate, simple, deciduous; generally elliptical or oblong, 2 to 5 inches long, light green and smooth above and paler below; margins are entire to wavy; fresh foliage smells and may taste like cucumber. Among the first plant to leaf-out in the spring.
Flower	Dioecious; whitish-green, bell-shaped, often appear in late winter before the leaves. About 1 cm across.
Fruit	Ovoid drupes up to 1/2 inch long, orange or yellow when young but blue-black when mature; borne on a red stem. Bitter taste.
Twig	Slender, green turning to reddish brown, pith chambered, conspicuous orange lenticles.
Bark	Smooth, reddish brown to dark gray.
Form	An erect, loosely branched shrub reaching 15 feet.

Synonyms

• Osmaronia (Greene)
• Nuttallia (Torr. & A.Gray)

Images

• 

  Fruits of O. cerasiformis

• 

  An Indian Plum shrub as its leaves begin to yellow in mid summer, Pierce County, Washington.

References

1. ^ Potter, D.; Eriksson, T.; Evans, R.C.; Oh, S.H.; Smedmark, J.E.E.; Morgan, D.R.; Kerr, M.; Robertson, K.R.; Arsenault, M.P.; Dickinson, T.A.; Campbell, C.S. (2007). Phylogeny and classification of Rosaceae. Plant Systematics and Evolution. 266(1–2): 5–43.
2. ^ ""USDA PLANTS Profile: Oemleria cerasiformis". http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=OECE. 
3. ^ Pojar, Jim; Andy MacKinnon (2004). Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Lone Pine Publishing. pp. 72. ISBN 978-1551055305. 
4. ^ ""Oemleria cerasiformis Fact Sheet". http://www.cnr.vt.edu/DENDRO/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=220. 

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment
• Photo gallery