SimplePlant

Rosaceae

Bitter cherry

Prunus emarginata (Douglas ex Hook.) Eaton

Family
Rosaceae
Genus
Prunus

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Bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata)
FlowerPhoto: John Brew, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (1)
English
Bitter cherry

Synonyms

  • Cerasus arida Greene
  • Cerasus californica Greene
  • Cerasus crenulata Greene
  • Cerasus erecta C.Presl
  • Cerasus glandulosa Kellogg
  • Cerasus kelloggiana Greene
  • Cerasus mollis Douglas ex Hook.
  • Cerasus obliqua Greene
  • Cerasus padifolia Greene
  • Cerasus pattoniana Carrière
  • Cerasus prunifolia Greene
  • Cerasus rhamnoides Greene
  • Cerasus trichopetala Greene
  • Padus emarginata (Douglas ex Hook.) S.Ya.Sokolov
  • Padus prunifolia (Greene) S.Ya.Sokolov
  • Prunus crenulata (Greene) Tidestr.
  • Prunus emarginata subsp. erecta (C.Presl) Piper
  • Prunus emarginata subsp. mollis (Douglas ex Hook.) A.E.Murray
  • Prunus emarginata var. crenulata (Greene) Kearney & Peebles
  • Prunus emarginata var. emarginata
  • Prunus emarginata var. mollis (Douglas ex Hook.) W.H.Brewer
  • Prunus emarginata var. villosa Sudw.
  • Prunus erecta (C.Presl) Walp.
  • Prunus mollis (Douglas ex Hook.) Walp.
  • Prunus padifolia (Greene) A.Nelson
  • Prunus pensylvanica var. mollis (Douglas ex Hook.) B.Boivin
  • Prunus prunifolia (Greene) Shafer
  • Prunus trichopetala (Greene) Blank.

Flowers

Flower colour
white (USDA PLANTS Database)

Characteristics

Growth habit
Shrub, Tree
Lifespan
Perennial
In the US and Canada
Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native

Photos

More in Prunus

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0); popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.