Antipka bird cherry or magalenka

Family Rosaceae (Rosaceae). The natural range of this bird cherry extends in a rather narrow belt from central Spain across southern Europe, through Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Central Asia to the Pamir-Alai, where it rises in the mountains up to 1900 m.

Grows in shrub thickets, preferring calcareous soils. The Latin name of this tree has an Arabic origin. In America it also has several local names: "perfumed cherry" (perfumed cherry), "cherry "St. Lucie"" (St. Lucie cherry). It differs from other species by the structure of the inflorescence. Although it is a raceme consisting of 5-14 flowers, this raceme is so shortened and flattened that it more closely resembles a shield-like cluster.

A small tree or shrub with a dense spherical crown, with dark-brown bark that has a distinctive smell. Leaves almost round, with crenate margins, glossy above, light green, paler beneath with a yellowish indumentum, 9 cm long. Flowers small, white, up to 1.5 cm in diameter, gathered in small racemes up to 7 cm long. Succulent fruits up to 1 cm in diameter, turning black as they ripen. Begins to flower and fruit at 9 years.

Long used in landscape architecture for creating tall living hedges, since it has a dense crown and tolerates pruning well. Drought-resistant. Light-loving. In addition to seeds, it is also propagated by cuttings. Can be used in solitary and group plantings.

Has garden forms:

weeping (f. penduia) - with weeping branches;
monstrous (f. monstrosa) - with a dense spherical crown;
yellow-fruited (f. chrysocarpa) - with yellow fruits;
white-margined (f. albo-marginata) - with white-edged leaves;
variegated (f. variegata) - with variegated leaves.