Prunus caroliniana |
Prunus lusitanica |
|
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Carolina cherry laurel or laurel cherry, Carolina laurelcherry, laurier amande |
Portugal laurel |
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Habit | Shrubs or trees, not suckering, 40–120 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs or trees, not suckering, 30–80(–200) 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. |
persistent; petiole 14–20 mm, glabrous, eglandular; blade elliptic, oblong-ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, 6–13 × 2.5–7 cm, base obtuse to rounded, margins crenate-dentate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrous, abaxial eglandular, if glands present, restricted to margins. |
Inflorescences | 12–30-flowered, racemes; central axes 13–30(–43) mm, leafless at bases. |
18–60[–100]-flowered, racemes; central axes 100–280 mm, leafless at bases. |
Pedicels | 1–4 mm, glabrous. |
7–15(–22) 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 after leaf emergence; hypanthium cupulate, 2.5–3.5 mm, glabrous externally; sepals spreading to reflexed, semicircular, 1–1.5 mm, margins entire, ± ciliate, abaxial surface glabrous, adaxial hairy; petals white, suborbiculate to obovate, 4–7 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
Drupes | black, ovoid, 9–12 mm, glabrous; mesocarps leathery; stones ovoid, not flattened, usually splitting open. |
dark purple, ovoid to conic-ovoid, 8–12 mm, glabrous; mesocarps fleshy to leathery; stones ovoid, not flattened. |
2n | = 32. |
= 32, 64. |
Prunus caroliniana |
Prunus lusitanica |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting May–Nov. | Flowering May–Jul; fruiting Aug–Nov. |
Habitat | Stream bottoms, thickets, wooded uplands, maritime forests, naturalizing in urban woodlands | Disturbed sites, thickets, urban forests |
Elevation | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) | 0–400 m (0–1300 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX
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CA; OR; WA; BC; Europe [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.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 361. | FNA vol. 9, p. 363. |
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) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 473. (1753) |
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