Carr, Bill
Prunus minutiflora Engelm.
Dwarf Plum, Texas almond
Rosaceae (Rose Family)
Shrub up to 3 feet tall, often thicket forming,
bark gray, new growth on branchlets covered with woolly hairs. Leaves up to 3/4 inch long, firm textured,
oblong to
elliptic, with margins usually without teeth, a rounded, sometimes pointed, tip, and gradually tapered base. Flowers small, white, on short spurs, appearing in March with the leaves.
Fruit spherical, about 1/2 inch long, fleshy but mostly pit, black when ripe.
On soils underlain with limestone and on limestone slopes and ledges.
Image Gallery:
7 photo(s) available
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial Habit: Shrub Leaf Retention: Deciduous Size Notes: 1-3
Fruit: Size Class: 1-3 ft.
Bloom Information
Bloom Color: White
Bloom Time: Mar
Distribution
USA: TX
Native Habitat: Endemic to the Edwards Plateau where it is only infrequently found. Soils underlain with limestone or on limestone slopes and ledges.
USDA Native Status: L48(N) Growing Conditions
Light Requirement: Sun
Soil Moisture: Dry
Conditions Comments: Could be used as an ornamental or woody ground cover for dry rocky sites. Good wildlife plant. Susceptible to web worm.
Benefit
Use Ornamental: Attractive, Aromatic, Showy, Fall conspicuous, Accent
tree or
shrub Use Wildlife: Plums attract birds. Nectar-bees, Fruit-birds, Fruit-mammals
Warning: The seeds of all Prunus species, found inside the fruits, contain poisonous substances and should never be eaten. Sensitivity to a toxin varies with a person’s age, weight, physical condition, and individual susceptibility. Children are most vulnerable because of their curiosity and small size. Toxicity can vary in a plant according to season, the plant’s different parts, and its stage of growth; and plants can absorb toxic substances, such as herbicides, pesticides, and pollutants from the water, air, and soil.
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Deer Resistant: High
2007-12-13
