Taphrina padi Taphrina padi Taphrina padi is a fungal plant pathogen that induces the form of pocket plum gall that occurs on Bird Cherry ("Prunus padus"). The gall is a chemically induced distortion of the fruits, which are swollen, hollow, curved and greatly elongated, without a seed or stone, but retaining the style. The twigs on infected plants may also be deformed with small strap-shaped leaves. "Taphrina padi", a 'tongue fungus', produces a distinctive, elongated, tongue-like growth on Bird Cherry, similar to other closely related species such as "Taphrina alni" on Alder ("Alnus glutinosa") and "Taphrina pruni" on Blackthorn ("Prunus spinosa"). The
Prunus tianshanica "Cerasus tianshanica" is properly "Prunus tianshanica". Prunus tianshanica Prunus tianshanica, the Tianshan cherry, is a species of cherry native to the Tianshan Mountains of Central Asia, preferring to grow at 800-1000m. "Prunus tianshanica" is a shrub reaching . The bark is grey, turning browner with age. The flowers are pink, and the dark red fruits, although small, are high in sugar and pleasant to the taste. It hybridizes naturally with "Prunus cerasifera", and the offspring produce fruit. A phylogenetic reconstruction using twelve chloroplast loci and three nuclear genes of 84 species of "Prunus" shows that "Cerasus" is indisputably a synonym