Prunus caroliniana |
Prunus hortulana |
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Carolina cherry laurel or laurel cherry, Carolina laurelcherry, laurier amande |
Hortulan or wild goose plum, Hortulan plum |
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Habit | Shrubs or trees, not suckering, 40–120 dm, not thorny. | Trees, rarely suckering, 40–100 dm, moderately thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with axillary 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 6–20 mm, hairy on adaxial surface, usually glandular distally, glands 1–5; blade narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, oblanceolate, or oblong-obovate, (5–)7–11(–13) × (2–)3–5.5 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins singly to doubly crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, glands inconspicuous, blackish, apex long-acuminate, abaxial surface ± hairy along midribs and veins, adaxial glabrous or with hairs along midribs. |
Inflorescences | 12–30-flowered, racemes; central axes 13–30(–43) mm, leafless at bases. |
2–4-flowered, umbellate fascicles. |
Pedicels | 1–4 mm, glabrous. |
8–20 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. |
blooming before or at leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals erect to reflexed, ovate, 1.5–3 mm, margins glandular-toothed, abaxial surface glabrous or sparsely hairy, adaxial densely hairy at bases; petals white, obovate, 4–9 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | black, ovoid, 9–12 mm, glabrous; mesocarps leathery; stones ovoid, not flattened, usually splitting open. |
red to yellowish with white dots, not or only slightly glaucous, globose, 20–30(–40) mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy; stones ovoid-ellipsoid, ± flattened. |
2n | = 32. |
= 16. |
Prunus caroliniana |
Prunus hortulana |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting May–Nov. | Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Aug–Sep. |
Habitat | Stream bottoms, thickets, wooded uplands, maritime forests, naturalizing in urban woodlands | Roadside thickets, flood plains, open woodlands |
Elevation | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) | 50–500 m (200–1600 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX
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AR; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MI; MO; NE; OH; OK; TN; VA; WV
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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.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 361. | FNA vol. 9, p. 382. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Padus caroliniana, Lauro-cerasus caroliniana | P. hortulana var. mineri |
Name authority | (Miller) Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 163. (1789) | L. H. Bailey: Gard. & Forest 5: 90. (1892) |
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