Prunus spinosa the more shrubby habit with stiffer, wider-angled branches of "P. spinosa"; in summer by the relatively narrower leaves of "P. spinosa", more than twice as long as broad; and in autumn by the colour of the fruit skin purplish black in "P. spinosa" and yellow or red in "P. cerasifera". "Prunus spinosa" has a tetraploid (2"n"=4"x"=32) set of chromosomes. The specific name "" is a Latin term indicating the pointed and thornlike spur shoots characteristic of this species. The common name "" is due to the thorny nature of the shrub, and its very dark bark. The word commonly used
Prunus 'Climax' flesh clings to the stone. The skin is dark red with yellow spots, and somewhat unpleasant in flavour, but peels away easily from the flesh when the fruit is fully ripe. Prunus 'Climax' 'Climax' is a "Prunus" cultivar, considered to be a plum. It was introduced in 1899 by plant breeder Luther Burbank. Burbank devoted a lot of work to hybridizing two plum species, the apricot plum or Simon plum "Prunus simonii" and the Japanese plum "Prunus salicina". He developed a number of cultivars from the hybrid, of which 'Climax' was particularly notable for its importance to the fruit shipping