המועדפים של southern_appalachia

This plant appears to be an undocumented wild hybrid of Alabama cherry and black cherry, Prunus alabamensis × serotina.

At present, iNat ranks Alabama cherry as a variety of black cherry, P. serotina var. alabamensis. This contradicts regional authorities, such as Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern United States, which regard it as species. Species rank is usually recognized for much less than what separates these taxa. Unfortunately, POWO has yet to be brought up to date with regional authorities, and iNat's toxonomy is based on POWO.

Comparison images included hybrid leaf alongside leaves from parent species.

What cannot be appreciated from the pictures is the leaf texture. P. serotina leaves are flat and smooth, while P. alabamensis leaves are rough and bumpy due to the hairs and prominent veins. The hybrid is mostly smooth like P. serotina, but the veins are prominent, so it is also bumpy like P. alabamensis.

Pubescence on underside of leaf is intermediate the parent species. P. alabamensis is pubescent over the entire surface, though moreso along the midrib and primary veins. P. serotina is almost entirely glabrous, except for lines of hairs flanking the base of the midrib. The hybrid is mostly pubescent, but patches between the primary veins are almost glabrous.

The hairs of all species are more visible late in the season when they turn a rusty orange color.

In winter condition, P. alabamensis can be distinguished by the presence of a dense mat of simple trichomes along the twigs below the terminal buds, best confirmed with magnification. These trichomes are entirely absent on P. serotina. The hybrid has the expected intermediate trait of scattered but not densely matted trichomes.