Prunus caroliniana
Prunus maritima
Carolina cherry laurel or laurel cherry, Carolina laurelcherry, laurier amande
beach plum
with terminal end buds, glabrous.
with axillary end buds, densely hairy to glabrate.
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 3–11 mm, usually densely hairy, rarely hairy only on adaxial surface, usually eglandular, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–2, discoid;
blade elliptic, broadly elliptic, or obovate (orbiculate in gravesii clone), 3.5–7 × 2–4 cm, base cuneate to obtuse (rounded in gravesii clone), margins finely, usually singly, rarely doubly, serrulate, teeth sharp, usually eglandular, rarely glandular, apex acute to obtuse (rounded in gravesii clone), abaxial surface usually hairy, sometimes only on veins or glabrescent, adaxial rugose, glabrous.
12–30-flowered, racemes;
central axes 13–30(–43) mm, leafless at bases.
2–4-flowered, umbellate fascicles.
1–4 mm, glabrous.
5–15 mm, hairy.
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 leaf emergence;
hypanthium campanulate, 2.5–3.5 mm, hairy externally;
sepals erect to spreading, ovate, 1.5–3.5 mm, margins entire, sometimes 2-fid at apices, ciliate, surfaces hairy;
petals white, oblong-obovate, 3–8 mm;
ovaries glabrous.
black, ovoid, 9–12 mm, glabrous;
mesocarps leathery;
stones ovoid, not flattened, usually splitting open.
red, yellow, dark blue, or purplish black, glaucous, globose, 11–18 mm, glabrous;
mesocarps fleshy;
stones ovoid, slightly flattened.
= 32.
= 16.
Prunus caroliniana
Prunus maritima
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.)
Prunus gravesii has been known from only a single locality since its description in 1897, and there may never have been more than a single, multistemmed individual. G. J. Anderson (1980) concluded that it is a mutant derivative of P. maritima. In the study by Anderson, it differed with statistical significance from other specimens of P. maritima for only 4 of 38 morphological features measured, and even for those four the range in values between the two taxa overlapped. Their leaf flavonoid chromatograms were identical. From a conservation standpoint it is of value to designate the orbiculate-leaved gravesii clone as a distinct taxonomic variety, for which the name P. maritima var. gravesii (Small) G. J. Anderson is available. Once listed by the state of Connecticut as endangered, it is now believed to be extinct in the wild. Throughout much of its original range P. maritima is threatened by oceanside development.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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