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Carolina cherry laurel or laurel cherry, Carolina laurelcherry, laurier amande

Oklahoma plum, Oklahoma plume

Habit Shrubs or trees, not suckering, 40–120 dm, not thorny. Shrubs, suckering, 3–15 dm, not thorny.
Twigs

with terminal end buds, glabrous.

with axillary end buds, densely 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 3–8 mm, densely hairy, usually eglandular, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–3, discoid;

blade usually ovate or elliptic, rarely obovate, 2–5(–7) × 1–2.5(–3.6) cm, base obtuse to cuneate, margins finely, singly or doubly serrulate, teeth sharp, usually eglandular, sometimes glandular, glands blackish, spheric, apex acute to obtuse, abaxial surface densely hairy, adaxial sparsely hairy.

Inflorescences

12–30-flowered, racemes;

central axes 13–30(–43) mm, leafless at bases.

2–4(–6)-flowered, umbellate fascicles.

Pedicels

1–4 mm, glabrous.

4–15 mm, hairy.

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 before or at leaf emergence;

hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, hairy externally;

sepals erect to spreading, ovate-oblong, 1.5–2.5 mm, margins usually entire, sometimes glandular-toothed or eglandular, sometimes ciliate, surfaces hairy;

petals white, oblong to obovate, 4–7 mm;

ovaries glabrous.

Drupes

black, ovoid, 9–12 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps leathery;

stones ovoid, not flattened, usually splitting open.

yellow, orange, or red, slightly glaucous, globose to ellipsoid, 9–18 mm, glabrous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones subglobose to ellipsoid, ± flattened.

2n

= 32.

Prunus caroliniana

Prunus gracilis

Phenology Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting May–Nov. Flowering Mar–Apr; fruiting Jun–Aug.
Habitat Stream bottoms, thickets, wooded uplands, maritime forests, naturalizing in urban woodlands Sandy roadsides, upland thickets, open woods, waste places
Elevation 0–200 m (0–700 ft) 100–1300 m (300–4300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AR; CO; KS; LA; NM; OK; TX
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Typically, sepals of Prunus gracilis are eglandular; in some specimens, glands occur along the margins. Similar glands are sometimes found on the tips of teeth along the leaf margins. The teeth are always sharp-pointed rather than blunt or rounded as they are in those plums whose leaves consistently have glandular teeth. Presence of glands on the sepals is not correlated with glands on leaf marginal teeth. Prunus gracilis, native to the southern Great Plains, is very similar to P. maritima, a plum of the eastern seaboard over 1600 km away.

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

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 361. FNA vol. 9, p. 380.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus
Sibling taxa
P. americana, P. andersonii, P. angustifolia, P. armeniaca, P. avium, 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. 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
Synonyms Padus caroliniana, Lauro-cerasus caroliniana
Name authority (Miller) Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 163. (1789) Engelmann & A. Gray: Boston J. Nat. Hist. 5: 243. (1845)
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