Prunus × blireiana explained

Prunus × blireiana (or blireana), the purple-leafed plum^[1] or double-flowering plum,^[2] is an ornamental flowering plant hybrid in the genus Prunus. It is a cross between the Japanese apricot (Prunus mume) and the purple-leaved plum cultivar Prunus cerasifera 'Pissardii'.^{[1] [3]}

Growing to tall and broad, it is a hardy deciduous medium-sized shrub or small tree, with rich pink, slightly scented, double blooms in Spring. The blossom is followed by reddish-purple tinged leaves which turn green as the season progresses.^[4]

Etymology

The plant was named for the town of Bléré, near Tours, France, and raised by the Lemoine nursery c. 1905. ^[5]

Homotypic synonyms

Prunus cerasifera var. blireana (André) Bean in Trees & Shrubs Brit. Isles 2: 232 (1914)Prunus pissardii blireana (André) Lemoine in Nursery Cat. (Lemoine) 164: 14 (1906)

Heterotypic synonyms

Prunus × blireana f. flore-pleno André in Rev. Hort. (Paris) 77: 392 (1905), not validly publ.Prunus × blireiana f. moseri (Rehder) Koehne in Mitt. Deutsch. Dendrol. Ges. 26: 71 (1917 publ. 1918)Prunus cerasifera var. moseri Rehder in Möller's Deutsche Gärtn.-Zeitung 20: 405 (1905)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Prunus x blireana - Burke's Backyard.
2. Web site: Prunus x blireana | GardensOnline.
3. Web site: Prunus × blireiana | Landscape Plants | Oregon State University.
4. Web site: Prunus × blireana . RHS . 5 March 2021.
5. Lemoine, E. (1906) Lemoine, Cat. No. 164: 14