FNPS Plant Database
Prunus americana
Nomenclature
Common Name:
Synonym(s):
Genus species:
Family:
Rosaceae
Plant Specifics
Form:
Size:
Life Span:
Long-lived perennial
Flower Color:
Fruit Color:
Phenology:
Noted For:
Landscaping
Recommended Uses:
Considerations:
Availability:
Propagation:
Light:
Moisture Tolerance:
Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry
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Usually moist, occasional inundation -to- Short very dry periods
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:
Unknown
Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
Soil or Other Substrate:
Sand, Loam
Soil pH:
Suitable to Grow In:
8A,8B,9A
USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.
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Vouchered In:
Ecology
Wildlife:
Pollinated by bees.
Attracts butterflies.
Larval host for the Coral Hairstreak, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Red-Spotted Purple, Spring/Summer Azures, and Viceroy butterflies.
Birds, squirrels, and other animals eat the fruit, and deer may browse the foliage, but the plant is not generally considered ideal food for either. It is used for hiding and nesting.
Native Habitats:
Comments:
Ethnobotany:
General Comments:
The range of this species covers much of North America, especially the midwest and mid-to-north Atlantic states and extends into southern Canada. Florida is the southern limit, and locations documented by herbarium specimens are scattered. Warm winter termperatures likely interfere with reproduction, and at least one of the southern herbarium specimens appears to be at a location where it could have been deposited by a bird.
Once established, this plant should be an attractive bloomer.
Citations:
Deyrup, Mark, Jay Edirisinghe, and Beth Norden. (2002). The diversity and floral hosts of bees at the Archbold Biological Station, Florida (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Insecta Mundi, 544. ( https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/544/ ). Accessed 2026. University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE.
Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell. (1999). Native Florida Plants. Gulf Publishing Company. Houston, TX.
Huegel, Craig N. (2010). Native Plant Landscaping for Florida Wildlife. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
North Carolina State Extension. (Undated). North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. ( https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/ ). North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University, Greensboro, NC.
Ruter, John M., and Bodie V. Pennisi. (2017). Selecting Salt-Tolerant Native Trees for the Georgia Coast (Bulletin B-1477). ( https://fieldreport.caes.uga.edu/publications/B1477/selecting-salt-tolerant-native-trees-for-the-georgia-coast/ ). Accessed 2026. College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.
University of Tennessee Extension Service. (2010). Desired pH Range and salt tolerance of common nursery plants. ( https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2021/10/Desired-pH-Range-List.pdf ). Accessed 2026. University of Tennessee Extension, Knoxville.
Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.
