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Indian Plum
Oemleria cerasiformis
47.6569, -122.422
Field Notes
Description:
Oemleria cerasiformis, also known as the Osoberry and Indian Plum, is the sole species in genus Oemleria. It is a shrub native to the Pacific coast and ranges of North America, from British Columbia, Canada to Santa Barbara County, California, U.S.A. It is among the first plants to leaf out and flowers early in the spring. It reaches a height of 1.5–5 m and has lance-shaped leaves 5–12 cm long. Native Americans eat them, make tea of the bark, and chew its twigs to use as a mild anesthetic and aphrodisiac.
Notes:
Leaf: Alternate, simple, deciduous; generally elliptical or oblong, 2 to 5 inches long, light green and smooth above and paler below; margins are entire to wavy; fresh foliage tastes like cucumber. Among the first plant to leaf-out in the spring.
Flower: Dioecious; whitish-green, inconspicuous, appearing in April to May.
Fruit: Ovoid drupes up to 1/2 inch long, orange or yellow when young but blue-black when mature; borne on a red stem.
Twig: Slender, green turning to reddish brown, pith chambered, conspicuous orange lenticles.
Bark: Smooth, reddish brown to dark gray.
Form: An erect, loosely branched shrub reaching 15 feet.
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