Prunus caroliniana |
Prunus geniculata |
|
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Carolina cherry laurel or laurel cherry, Carolina laurelcherry, laurier amande |
scrub plum |
|
Habit | Shrubs or trees, not suckering, 40–120 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs, sometimes suckering, much branched, 5–10(–20) dm, thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with axillary end buds, hairy. |
Leaves | persistent; petiole 5–8 mm, glabrous, eglandular; blade narrowly elliptic to elliptic or oblanceolate, 5–10 × 1.5–4 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins entire or spinose-serrate, sometimes undulate, teeth sharp, eglandular, apex usually acute to short-acuminate, sometimes obtuse-apiculate, apicula acute, surfaces glabrous, abaxial glandular, glands 2, proximal, flat, circular to oval. |
deciduous; petiole 3–6 mm, hairy on adaxial surface, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–2, discoid; blade elliptic, 0.8–2.5 × 0.4–1.3 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins crenulate-serrulate in distal 1/2, nearly entire on smaller leaves, teeth blunt, glandular, apex obtuse to rounded, mucronate, surfaces glabrous. |
Inflorescences | 12–30-flowered, racemes; central axes 13–30(–43) mm, leafless at bases. |
solitary flowers. |
Pedicels | 1–4 mm, glabrous. |
0–3 mm, glabrous. |
Flowers | usually bisexual, proximal sometimes staminate, blooming before leaf emergence; hypanthium cupulate, 2.5–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals spreading, semicircular, 0.5–1 mm, margins usually entire, sometimes glandular-toothed, surfaces glabrous; petals white, suborbiculate to elliptic, 1–1.5 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
usually bisexual with some staminate flowers on same plant, blooming before leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals erect to spreading, ovate, 1–1.5 mm, margins entire, ciliate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial hairy; petals white, elliptic, 2 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | black, ovoid, 9–12 mm, glabrous; mesocarps leathery; stones ovoid, not flattened, usually splitting open. |
reddish, ovoid, 12–25 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones ovoid, ± flattened. |
2n | = 32. |
|
Prunus caroliniana |
Prunus geniculata |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting May–Nov. | Flowering Jan–Feb; fruiting Mar–May. |
Habitat | Stream bottoms, thickets, wooded uplands, maritime forests, naturalizing in urban woodlands | Longleaf pine-turkey oak sandhills, pine-evergreen oak scrub |
Elevation | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) | 10–50 m (0–200 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX
|
FL |
Discussion | Prunus caroliniana is a popular ornamental for screens and trimmed hedges and is widely planted in the southeastern United States because of its lustrous, dark green foliage persistent through the seasons. The species was probably common as a native plant on the southeastern barrier islands; most inland occurrences represent escapes from cultivation. It rarely escapes from cultivation in California. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. Prunus geniculata is known only from the Lake Wales Ridge in central Florida. Much of its original habitat has been lost to residential, recreational, and agricultural development; it received federal listing as an endangered species in 1987. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 361. | FNA vol. 9, p. 378. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Padus caroliniana, Lauro-cerasus caroliniana | |
Name authority | (Miller) Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 163. (1789) | R. M. Harper: Torreya 11: 67. (1911) |
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