Oemleria cerasiformis
Common name:
Indian Plum
Oso Berry
Pronunciation:
ohm-LER-i-a se-ra-si-FORM-is
Family:
Rosaceae
Genus:
Synonyms:
Osmaronia cerasiformis
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
Yes
- Deciduous shrub 15-20 ft (4.5-6 m) high, erect. Stems have orange lenticels and chambered pith. Leaves broadly oblong, narrowed at each end, 4-6.5 cm long, short petiole, young leaves have a cucumber-like flavor. One of the first native shrubs to bloom in the spring, plants usually dioecious -- male or female flowers on separate plants, flowers green-white, in hanging clusters at ends of leafy branches. Fruit ovoid (cerasiformis: cherry shaped), orange-red then red-purple, quickly consumed by, and seeds spread by, birds. Although bitter and astringent, they are "quite palatable when fully ripe" (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994).
- Part shade. Good for wild plantings where its size and suckering habits are not a disadvantage. A nearby male plant needed for female plants to set abundant fruit.
- Hardy to USDA Zone (5) 6 Native to lowland wetland forests from British Columbia to California.
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One of the first native woody plants to flower. Optimistic observers consider its bloom a sign that spring is near, whereas pessimistic folks consider such a view as “excessive exuberance”. When young leaves are chewed, the flavor is reminiscent of cucumbers.
- Oemleria: after Herr Oemler of Dresden who supplied American plants to the German botanist H.G.L. Reichenbach in the mid-1800s.
- cerasiformis: cherry-shaped, the fruit
- Oregon State Univ. campus: west side of Moreland Hall "arboretum".
Click image to enlarge
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in habitat, early spring flowering
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in a landscape, flowering
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flowering branches
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flower clusters and young leaves
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flowers
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male flower
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female flower
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leaf
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fruit development
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in habitat, fruiting
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fruit clusters
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plant habit, mid-summer
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summer foliage
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young stems
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stem, bark
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winter twigs and buds
