FNPS Plant Database

Prunus geniculata

scrub plum

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

Nomenclature

Common Name:

scrub plum

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Prunus geniculata

Family:

Rosaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

4-12 ft tall by 4-6 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

red

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms in late winter. Clonal.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Showy Fruits

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen plant in a dry setting or grow as part of a scrub garden. This plant has very interesting zigzag branches which provide considerable winter interest.

Considerations:

Slow growing.

Availability:

Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales, Seed

Propagation:

Seed. Division (naturally clonal).

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Short very dry periods ---to--- 1Stays wet

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

Soil pH:

Acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

9A,9B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Birds

Pollinated by bees.

Birds eat the fruit and are the primary dispersers.  

Native Habitats:

Scrub, scrubby high pine.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

Fruit is said to be bitter.

General Comments:

This is an endangered species. Please acquire only from reputable nurseries.



Endemic to the central ridges, esp. the Lake Wales Ridge.

Citations:

Chapin, Linda.  2000.  Field guide to the rare plants of Florida.  Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee, FL.  



Deyrup, Mark; Jayanthi 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



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, FL. (wildlife uses)



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021.  Atlas of Florida Plants  ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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