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Prunus salicifolia

Common name:	Capulin Cherry	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	Kunth.	Botanical references:	11, 200
Synonyms:	Prunus serotina salicifolia ((Kunth.)Koehne.), Prunus capuli (Cav. ex Spreng.), Prunus capollin (Zucc.)
Known Hazards:	Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, it belongs to a genus where most, if not all members of the genus produce hydrogen cyanide, a poison that gives almonds their characteristic flavour. This toxin is found mainly in the leaves and seed and is readily detected by its bitter taste. It is usually present in too small a quantity to do any harm but any very bitter seed or fruit should not be eaten. In small quantities, hydrogen cyanide has been shown to stimulate respiration and improve digestion, it is also claimed to be of benefit in the treatment of cancer. In excess, however, it can cause respiratory failure and even death.
Range:	Southern N. America - Mexico to S. America - Peru.
Habitat:	Not known
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	P. capulis[E] P. serotina subsp. capuli[G] P. serotina var. salicifolia[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Capollaxipehualli [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	salicifolia = Salix leaved
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Mexico

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 25m. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from May to June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy.

Edible Uses

Fruit Seed.

Fruit - raw or cooked[105, 161]. Thin skinned with a juicy sub-acid to sweet flesh but a slightly astringent aftertaste[183, 196]. They can be eaten out of hand or used in preserves, pies etc[183]. The juice is often mixed with cornmeal to make a cake[46]. The fruit is about 17mm in diameter and contains one large seed[200].
Seed - raw or cooked. Do not eat the seed if it is too bitter - see the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, all members of the genus contain amygdalin and prunasin, substances which break down in water to form hydrocyanic acid (cyanide or prussic acid). In small amounts this exceedingly poisonous compound stimulates respiration, improves digestion and gives a sense of well-being[238].

Other Uses

Dye Fuel Wood.

A green dye can be obtained from the leaves[168].
A dark grey to green dye can be obtained from the fruit[168].
Wood - hard, insect resistant. Used for furniture, musical instruments etc, It is also a good fuel[196].

Cultivation details

Thrives in a well-drained moisture-retentive loamy soil, growing well on limestone[11, 196, 200]. Prefers some lime in the soil but is likely to become chlorotic if too much is present[1]. Plants are not exacting in their soil requirements, succeeding in poor soils and in clays[196]. Requires a sunny position[11].
Plants have tolerated temperatures down to about -22° c in Massachusetts, N. America[196].
This species is closely related to P. serotina, but it has larger edible fruits[11].
A fast growing and vigorous species, it can fruit in its third year from seed[196].
Trees have a very low chilling requirement and are adapted to grow in warm winter areas where true cherries are unable to fruit[183]. They are cultivated in C. America, from Mexico to Peru, for their edible fruit. There are some named varieties[183, 196]. 'Ecuadorian' has large sweet fruit and is a heavy cropper[200]. 'Fausto' has large sweet fruit and is a good cropper. 'Harriet' is a dwarf tree with large fruit[200]. 'Hauchi Grande' has large mild-flavoured fruit and is a very heavy cropper[200].
Most members of this genus are shallow-rooted and will produce suckers if the roots are damaged[238].
Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - requires 2 - 3 months cold stratification and is best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe[200]. Sow stored seed in a cold frame as early in the year as possible[200]. Protect the seed from mice etc. The seed can be rather slow, sometimes taking 18 months to germinate[113]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Grow them on in a greenhouse or cold frame for their first winter and plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood with a heel, July/August in a frame[11, 200].
Softwood cuttings from strongly growing plants in spring to early summer in a frame[200].
Layering in spring.

Cultivars

'Werner': The small fruit has a very good flavour[183]. The tree is a light producer, though it appears to fruit better when grown on certain rootstocks[183]. It is extremely vigorous and can grow 4.5 metres or more in a single year[183].
'Lomeli': The large fruit is up to 30mm in diameter[183]. The flesh is fairly astringent, the flavour is good and the seed small[183]. This form does well in cool coastal locations[183]. A heavy producer, often yielding more than 90 kilos of fruit[183]. The fruit is borne in clusters[183].
'Hauchi Grande': The large to very large fruit is 25mm or more in diameter. It has a very mild flavour, lacking the astringency found in many other forms of this species[183]. The fruit ripens early to mid season and appears to require high temperatures in order to develop a good flavour[183]. A very heavy cropper, the tree tends to overproduce in heavy clusters[183].
'Harriet': The large fruit is up to 25mm in diameter, the green flesh is well-flavoured and more or less free of astringency when fully ripe[183]. The seed is relatively small[183]. The tree is a genetic dwarf and somewhat shy bearing - this appears to be related to rootstock selection[183].
'Fausto': This form has large sweet richly flavoured fruit up to 25mm in diameter and is a good cropper[200]. It ripens late, in August and September in California[183]. An upright but drooping tree, it bears regularly each year and has excellent commercial potential[183].
'Ecuadorian': A form with large sweet fruit that is free of astringency when ripe and is up to 40mm in diameter[183, 200]. A drooping tree, it outyields many other cultivars[183].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

Latin and Worldwide Common Names From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M. H. Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000 Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Prunus capuli (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Prunus capulis (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Prunus serotina subsp. capuli (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[196] Popenoe. H. et al Lost Crops of the Incas National Academy Press 1990 ISBN 0-309-04264-X
An excellent book. Very readable, with lots of information and good pictures of some lesser known food plants of S. America.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

Readers Comments

Plant Passporting

Rich (michael@thewitchshaven.com) Wed Sep 26 16:58:15 2001

This information has been taken from DEFRA Guide to Plant Passporting. Which places restrictions on plants which can be traded in the UK and the EU mainly because they are carriers for pests and diseases.

Beta vulgaris (Beet), Chaenomeles (Ornamental quince, Japonica), Citrus (Orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, etc.), Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster), Crataegus (Hawthorn), Cydonia (Quince), Eriobotrya (Includes loquat), Fortunella and hybrids (Kumquat), Humulus lupulus (Hop (including ornamentals)), Malus (Apple (including ornamentals)), Mespilus (Medlar), Poncirus and hybrids (Ornamental citrus), Prunus (other than Prunus laurocerasus and Prunus lusitanica) (Includes almond, apricot, cherry, damson, greengage, nectarine, peach, plum, sloe and ornamental/flowering varieties), Pyracantha (Firethorn), Pyrus (Pear (including ornamentals)), Solanum (stolon or tuber forming types) (Potato), Sorbus (other than Sorbus intermedia) (Includes rowan and whitebeam), Stranvaesia (Stranvaesia), Vitis (Grape, includes grape vine and ornamental grape).

Many other plants require pasporting for commercial growers, these include Abies, Allium ascalonicum, Allium cepa, Allium porrum, Allium schoenoprasum, Apium graveolens, Plants of the family Araceae, Argyranthemum, Aster, Brassica, Castanea, Capsicum annuum, Cucumis, Dendranthema, Dianthus and hybrids, Euphorbia, Exacum, Fragaria, Gerbera, Gypsophila, Helianthus annuus, Impatiens (all varieties of New Guinea hybrids), Lactuca, Larix, Leucanthemum, Lupinus, Lycopersicon lycopersicum, Plants of the family Marantaceae, Medicago sativa, Plants of the family Musaceae, Nicotiana, Pelargonium, Persea, Phaseolus, Picea, Pinus, Platanus, Populus, Prunus laurocerasus and Prunus lusitanica, Pseudotsuga, Quercus, Rubus, Plants of the family Solanaceae (other than plants of stolon or tuber forming species of Solanum and their hybrids), Solanum melongena, Spinacia, Plants of the family Strelitziaceae, Tanacetum, Tsuga, Verbena.

Cross references: Plants: Beta vulgaris, Humulus lupulus. Genera: Chaenomeles, Citrus, Cotoneaster, Crataegus, Cydonia, Eriobotrya, Fortunella, Malus, Mespilus, Poncirus, Prunus, Pyracantha, Pyrus, Solanum, Sorbus, Stranvaesia, Vitis.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.