Indian-plum (Oemleria cerasiformis), The Rose Family (Rosaceae)

It is also known as Osoberry.

Habitat

This plant grows throughout the arboretum along the pathways. It grows in dry to moist soils in open woods or along stream banks at low elevations. I usually see it growing as a dense shrub with many stems or singularly as if becoming a small tree.

Leaves & Buds

Leaves are 2 - 5 inches, elliptical, smooth-edged and pointed.
The buds of the Indian plum are beautiful. Their color is soft and subtle. They have a quiet luminosity that emit a soothing balm of peacefulness.

Flowers

The flowers are white and hanging down in pendent racemes below the unfolding new leaves. The male and female flowers are similar and on separate trees. They have 5 petals and 15 stamens or lacking in female flowers. The flowers of the Indian-plum are one of the first blooms of spring, usually emerging in February or March.

Fruit

The berries grow in small clusters and are about 3/8” in diameter. They begin as peach-colored, turn reddish, and ripen to blue-black. When cedar waxwings arrive out at the arboretum they usually devour the berries well before they are ripe. Robins will also eat them too. The berries are 1-seeded and bitter.

Bark

The bark is a reddish-brown with light markings when the stems are young. As the plant matures, the bark becomes grayer and will often be adorned with moss and lichens.

Life in an Indian Plum

References

Mathews, Daniel. Cascade-Olympic Natural History. Raven Editions in conjunction with Portland Audubon Society, 1988.

Pojar, Jim, and Andy MacKinnon. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska (Revised). B.C. Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing, 1994.

Quick Reference:

Height: 5 - 15’
Leaves: Alternate, 2 - 5”, elliptical, smooth-edged, pointed
Fruit: Berries, 1-seeded, bitter, peach-colored ripening to blue-black
Habitat: Dry to moist, open woods, stream banks, low elevations

Photo Location:
Mt. Pisgah Arboretum
Eugene, OR