Prunus caroliniana |
Prunus glandulosa |
|
---|---|---|
Carolina cherry laurel or laurel cherry, Carolina laurelcherry, laurier amande |
dwarf flowering almond, flowering almond |
|
Habit | Shrubs or trees, not suckering, 40–120 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs, suckering, 5–20 dm, not thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
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 1–6 mm, hairy on adaxial surface, eglandular; blade narrowly elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, 2.5–9 × 0.9–2.5 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins crenulate-serrulate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex acute to acuminate, abaxial surface glabrous or slightly hairy along midribs and veins, adaxial glabrous. |
Inflorescences | 12–30-flowered, racemes; central axes 13–30(–43) mm, leafless at bases. |
solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles. |
Pedicels | 1–4 mm, glabrous. |
6–15 mm, glabrous or sparsely puberulent. |
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. |
blooming at leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous or sparsely puberulent externally; sepals spreading to reflexed, ovate, 2.5–5 mm, margins glandular-toothed, ± ciliate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely puberulent; petals 25+, white or pink, elliptic to narrowly elliptic, 8–11 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | black, ovoid, 9–12 mm, glabrous; mesocarps leathery; stones ovoid, not flattened, usually splitting open. |
reddish, subglobose, 10–15 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones subglobose, not flattened. |
2n | = 32. |
|
Prunus caroliniana |
Prunus glandulosa |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting May–Nov. | Flowering Mar–May. |
Habitat | Stream bottoms, thickets, wooded uplands, maritime forests, naturalizing in urban woodlands | Roadsides, fencerows, abandoned plantings |
Elevation | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) | 0–400 m (0–1300 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX
|
IA; MI; NC; ON; e Asia (China, Japan) [Introduced in North America] |
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.) |
Double-flowered cultivars of Prunus glandulosa, which lack stamens and carpels, are commonly planted as foundation shrubs and in borders. Although the plants are attractive in bloom, some horticulturalists consider them of little ornamental value otherwise. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 361. | FNA vol. 9, p. 377. |
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) | Thunberg: in J. A. Murray, Syst. Veg. ed. 14, 463. (1784) |
Web links |