Cape Cod Native Garden Plants

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident less ↑

This is a deciduous shrub about ½-3' tall that branches occasionally. Young branches are initially green, but they later become yellowish green and more or less covered with small warty dots. Young branches are usually glabrous, but sometimes they are slightly pubescent. Older branches become woody and vary in color from red to yellowish brown; on the trunk and very old branches, the bark becomes shredded. Alternate leaves occur along new branches. The blades of these leaves are ¾-2¼" long and ½-1" across; they are oval, ovate, obovate, or broadly elliptic in shape, and their margins are smooth or minutely toothed toward the tips of the blades. The upper surface of the leaf blades is medium green or yellowish green and glabrous (sometimes with reddish tints in bright sunlight), while the lower surface is pale green, glabrous, and sometimes glaucous. Less often, the lower surface of the leaf blades may be slightly pubescent. The petioles are short and slender. Raceme-like clusters of flowers develop from second-year branches. The pedicels of the flowers are light green and glabrous. Each flower (up to 1/3" in length) is longer than it is wide, consisting of a tubular corolla with 5 tiny recurved lobes, a short light green calyx with 5 broad teeth, 10 inserted stamens, and a pistil with a single style. The corolla is somewhat constricted toward its outer rim and it varies in color from greenish white to pink- or red-tinted cream. The blooming period occurs from late spring to early summer and lasts about 3 weeks. The flowers are replaced by globoid berries about ¼" across that are initially green, but they later become dark blue with a whitish bloom. The berries become mature during mid- to late summer; they are juicy and sweet, containing 8-20 tiny seeds that are less than 1.5 mm. in length. The woody root system is branched and shallow, forming underground runners that can produce clonal offsets. At favorable sites, colonies of clonal plants are often formed. The leaves become red to dark red during the autumn before they fall to the ground. Cultivation less ↑

Prunus maritima, beach plum, is a deciduous shrub in the Rosaceae (rose family) native to coastal areas of the northeastern U.S., from Maine to Virginia. Its plums are edible, but are quite tart and acidic, so they are generally used for jams and jellies. This species is used for coastal stabilization, to slow the erosion of sand dunes; in natural settings, it is an important food source for coastal wildlife. Although native to coastal areas, it can grow inland, and is sometimes cultivated for its fruit; several horticultural varieties have been developed.

Beach plum typically grows to around 2 m (6 ft) tall and has straggling or prostrate lower branches, although when grown inland may develop tree, rather than shrub, form, and reach heights up to around 8 m (18 ft). Branches occasionally have spines. Leaves are oval to elliptical, usually serrate (with sharp teeth) or crenate (wavy-margined), 2.5 to 6.5 cm (1 to 2.5 in) long, usually pubescent (with short downy hair) on the underside. The 5-petalled white flowers are small, around 1 cm (less than 0.5 in) in diameter, and generally occur in clusters of two or three. Fruits are spherical to oval drupes, with firm, somewhat juicy flesh and a hard pit. Fruits range in color from red to purple (one horticultural variety is yellow), and are covered with a waxy bloom.

Two naturally occurring varieties grow along the Atlantic coast in the Northeastern U.S., and both are listed as endangered: var. maritima is recognized as an endangered species in Maine, Maryland, Pennsylvania; and var. gravesii is listed as endangered in Connecticut.

(Bailey et al. 1976, Everett 1981, Hedrick 1919, USDA 2002.) less ↑

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident less ↑