Prunus eremophila

Mojave desert plum, Mojave Desert Plum

Family: Rosaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Mojave desert plum is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native shrub found in eastern Mojave Desert in desert washes, rocky slopes, and creosote-blackbush scrub at elevations of 900 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces white flowers in small clusters, each petal 2.5 to 6 millimeters long. Growing as a much-branched shrub less than 2.5 meters tall with weak thorny branches, it develops a distinctive multi-stemmed structure. Its deciduous leaves are small and delicate, typically 5 to 20 millimeters long, with ovate to obovate blades that have serrated edges and a wedge-shaped base. The fruit is a small, velvety yellow-orange drupe approximately 9 to 16 millimeters long with a thin, dry pulp.

Habitat: Desert washes, rocky slopes, creosote-blackbush scrub

Bloom period: Mar-Apr

Elevation: 900-1200 m

Bioregions: e DMoj.

California counties: San Bernardino

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.