Indian Plum

Oemleria cerasiformis

All photos with blue borders expand if clicked

Fruit cluster

Immature fruit cluster

A little later

April 2nd, 2011 flowers before leaves

Flower cluster

Early leaf cluster

Flower and Leaf cluster

The plums of this native to the North American West Coast are bitter and not suitable for eating, but the shrub which grows to 15 feet high is attractive and the fruiting clusters are striking. It flowers very early in the spring, and the fruit here is show photographed on July 3rd of a year with a late spring. The clusters do not ripen at the same time. The fruit itself is about the size of a cherry, with the pit being somewhat smaller than a cherry pit, but round.

The flowers are in clusters and individually relatively small. Notably they are very early in the season---even before the red currants. The first partially developed fruit photo was taken on May 10th.

This shrub is also known as the osoberry.

Additional information: see Wikpedia - Indian Plumb