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Cherokee plum, Chickasaw plum, Chickasaw plume, Florida sand plum, sandhill plum

cherry-laurel, common cherry laurel, hedge cherry laurel, laurel cherry

Habit Shrubs or trees, often suckering, 10–50 dm, thorny. Shrubs or trees, sometimes suckering, 20–60(–100) dm, not thorny.
Twigs

with axillary end buds, glabrous.

with terminal end buds, glabrous.

Leaves

deciduous;

petiole 2–14 mm, usually sparsely hairy on adaxial surface, rarely glabrous or hairy on both surfaces, usually eglandular, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–2;

blade lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, usually folded along midribs, often ± falcate, 1.5–6 × 0.8–2 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins crenulate-serrulate, teeth blunt, glandular, glands reddish orange, conic, apex acute, abaxial surface glabrate with hairs along midribs and major veins, adaxial glabrous.

persistent;

petiole 5–15 mm, glabrous, eglandular;

blade elliptic to obovate, 6–18 × 3–7 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins remotely serrulate or nearly entire, teeth blunt, glandular, apex abruptly short-acuminate, apicula acute, surfaces glabrous, abaxial glandular, glands 1–several, proximal, flat, circular to oval.

Inflorescences

2–4-flowered, umbellate fascicles.

26–32-flowered, racemes;

central axes (35–)55–130 mm, leafless at bases.

Pedicels

3–10 mm, glabrous.

1–5 mm, glabrous.

Flowers

blooming before, sometimes at, leaf emergence;

hypanthium campanulate, 1.5–3 mm, usually glabrous, rarely hairy, externally;

sepals erect to spreading, ovate, 1–2 mm, margins entire, sparsely ciliate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial hairy;

petals white, suborbiculate to obovate, 3–6 mm;

ovaries glabrous.

blooming before leaf emergence;

hypanthium cupulate, 3–4 mm, glabrous externally;

sepals spreading, triangular, 0.7–1.2 mm, margins usually entire, sometimes with deciduous glands, ciliate in spots, surfaces glabrous or hairy;

petals white, obovate or broadly elliptic to suborbiculate, 3–5 mm;

ovaries glabrous.

Drupes

red to yellow, lightly glaucous, globose to ellipsoid, 15–20 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones ovoid, ± flattened.

deep purple-red to nearly black, ovoid to conic-ovoid, 13–17 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy to leathery;

stones ovoid, not flattened.

2n

= 16.

Prunus angustifolia

Prunus laurocerasus

Phenology Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting May–Aug. Flowering Mar–May; fruiting Aug–Nov.
Habitat Thickets, upland sandy soil, open woods, sand dunes, fence rows, pastures, roadsides, stream bottoms Riparian thickets, shaded ravines, understory of urban and second-growth forests
Elevation 0–600 m (0–2000 ft) 0–600 m (0–2000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CO; DC; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NE; NJ; NM; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

A naturalized population of Prunus angustifolia in Santa Barbara County, California, has been extirpated.

Prunus angustifolia is one of the more distinctive plum species in North America. The leaves are relatively small, usually folded along their midribs, and have relatively large, reddish orange, conic glands along the margins. When it hybridizes with other plums, the hybrids often have distinctive characteristics and have been named as species more often than hybrids not involving P. angustifolia: P. ×orthosepala Koehne (angustifolia × americana), P. ×slavinii E. J. Palmer ex Rehder (angustifolia × gracilis), P. ×utahensis Koehne (angustifolia × pumila var. besseyi); see also discussion under 42. P. rivularis.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Flowering specimens of Prunus laurocerasus with small leaves and entire margins that otherwise resemble P. caroliniana can be identified by their larger hypanthia and longer petals. In fruit, the stone is much harder in P. laurocerasus and does not split open upon drying; the flesh around the stone is thicker and more succulent.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 381. FNA vol. 9, p. 362.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus
Sibling taxa
P. americana, P. andersonii, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. caroliniana, P. cerasifera, P. cerasus, P. domestica, P. dulcis, P. emarginata, P. eremophila, P. fasciculata, P. fremontii, P. geniculata, P. glandulosa, P. gracilis, P. havardii, P. hortulana, P. ilicifolia, P. laurocerasus, P. lusitanica, P. mahaleb, P. maritima, P. mexicana, P. minutiflora, P. murrayana, P. myrtifolia, P. nigra, P. padus, P. pensylvanica, P. persica, P. pumila, P. rivularis, P. serotina, P. speciosa, P. spinosa, P. subcordata, P. subhirtella, P. texana, P. tomentosa, P. umbellata, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
P. americana, P. andersonii, P. angustifolia, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. caroliniana, P. cerasifera, P. cerasus, P. domestica, P. dulcis, P. emarginata, P. eremophila, P. fasciculata, P. fremontii, P. geniculata, P. glandulosa, P. gracilis, P. havardii, P. hortulana, P. ilicifolia, P. lusitanica, P. mahaleb, P. maritima, P. mexicana, P. minutiflora, P. murrayana, P. myrtifolia, P. nigra, P. padus, P. pensylvanica, P. persica, P. pumila, P. rivularis, P. serotina, P. speciosa, P. spinosa, P. subcordata, P. subhirtella, P. texana, P. tomentosa, P. umbellata, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
Synonyms P. angustifolia subsp. varians, P. angustifolia var. watsonii
Name authority Marshall: Arbust. Amer., 111. (1785) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 474. (1753)
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