Mahaleb Cherry

Prunus mahaleb

Rosaceae (Rose Family)

▲ Mature tree

▲▼ trunk and branches

▲ leaves

 ▲ flowers and beginning fruit

Location on or near Missouri State University campus:  unknown

Maheleb Cherry (Prunus mahaleb):

Leaves:  ovate, glabrous, dark green, serrate-margined leaves with pointed tips, 0.75-2 inches long and 2/3 as wide on long petioles

Stems:  Gray-brown to purplish; slender

Bark:  Smooth, gray-brown with horizontal lenticels when young; becoming gray, ridged, with age

Growth Habit/Size and Growth Rate:  10-35’ tall, equally wide; sometimes more of a small shrub than tree; medium growth rate

Flowers:  Small white flowers in 1-1.5 inch long racemes with 3-10 flowers each in mid spring, after leaves emerge

Fruit:   Small drupes, ¼ inch diameter, green to red to purple-black at maturity

Growing Conditions:  prefers full sun, moist, well-drained soil

Comments:  Is sometimes used as a rootstock for other Prunus trees; can be invasive in some areas of U.S.; otherwise is a more disease-resistant cherry