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Wild Himalayan Cherry
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Wild Himalayan Cherry
ative Photo: Prashant Awale
Common name: Wild Himalayan Cherry • Hindi: पदम Padam, Padmakashtha • Marathi: padmaka, padmakastha, padmakaashta • Tamil: patumugam • Malayalam: patimukam • Telugu: padmakla • Kannada: padmaka • Kashmiri: Taanch'e ٹانچھه • Khasi: Dieng kaditusoo • Mizo: Tlaizawng, Tlaizowng • Sanskrit: Charu, Hima, Kaidara, kedaraja, malaya, maleya, padmagandhi, पद्मक Padmaka • Nepali: पैयु Painyu • Manipur: ꯃꯜꯍꯩ Malhei
Botanical name: Prunus cerasoides    Family: Rosaceae (Rose family)
Synonyms: Cerasus cerasoides, Prunus puddum, Cerasus puddum

Wild Himalayan Cherry is a deciduous tree found in the forests of the Himalayas, from Himachal Pradesh in India to SW China and Burma. It grows at altitudes of 1200-2400 m above sea level. It is a medium sized tree which grows up to 30 metres in height. The bark is smooth, and peels off in thin horizontal strips. The leaves are elliptic, long pointed, with toothed margin. They are short-stalked, 5-8 cm long. It flowers in autumn and winter, with the flowers generally appearing on bare branches, or with young leaves. Flowers are pink, long-stalked, often paired or in few-flowered clusters at the end of branches. They have 5 pink, obovate petals, spreading outwards. Fruit is yellow, maturing to red, ovoid, 1.3-1.6 cm long. Flowering: October-November.

Identification credit: Navendu Pāgé Photographed in Shillong, Meghalaya & Rajouri, Jammu & Kashmir.

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