Friends of Belfast Botanic Gardens

Tree of the month series - this series of short articles about trees in the Belfast Botanic Gardens is compiled by members of the Friends group and Gardens staff. The series will gradually build up to a comprehensive archive of information about the trees in Belfast Botanic gardens. Each article will illustrate the tree in Belfast together with information from a range of sources elsewhere. Click here for the rest of the trees

Tree of the Month, April 2009

Prunus cerasifera 'Pissardii' - Purple-leaved plum

(also called Pissard's plum and Prunus atropurpurea)

by Jonathan Pilcher

This plum discovered by and named after Monsieur Pissard, gardener to the Shar of Persia in the 1880s, is widly grown in Ireland for its spring blossom.It can look glorious in March and April when in flower, but has a rather somber appearance later in the year with its dark purplish leaves and black bark. Described in one book thus "for the rest of the year it is a twiggy mess, worst in summer when bearing muddy brown 'purple' foliage". Some authors clearly don't like it! The flowers are pink in bud and open to almost white, contrasting well with the emerging reddish leaves.

Previously given its own species (P. pissardii or P. atropurpurea) is is now classified as a variety of the Myrobalan plum (the cherry plum) which is native to Iran, although widely naturalised in the UK. Its flowers are typical of the rose family with a large number of stamens, five petals and 5 sepals.

Purple leaved plum near Botanic Avenue gate to Belfast Botanic Gardens	Purple leaved plum in flower in mid-March
Reddish leaves open at the same time as flowers, but turn a dull purple later in the summer

Photos taken in 2009 in Belfast Botanic Gardens. Copyright Jon Pilcher