Prunus caroliniana |
Rosaceae tribe Amygdaleae |
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Carolina cherry laurel or laurel cherry, Carolina laurelcherry, laurier amande |
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Habit | Shrubs or trees, not suckering, 40–120 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs or trees; sometimes armed. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
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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. |
alternate, simple; stipules deciduous, free; venation pinnate. |
Inflorescences | 12–30-flowered, racemes; central axes 13–30(–43) mm, leafless at bases. |
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Pedicels | 1–4 mm, glabrous. |
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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. |
perianth and androecium perigynous; epicalyx bractlets absent; hypanthium cup-shaped, obconic, campanulate, or tubular; torus absent; carpel 1, distinct, free, style terminal, distinct; ovules 2 (1 abortive), apical, collateral (obturator present). |
Fruits | drupes; styles deciduous, not elongate. |
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Drupes | black, ovoid, 9–12 mm, glabrous; mesocarps leathery; stones ovoid, not flattened, usually splitting open. |
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2n | = 32. |
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Prunus caroliniana |
Rosaceae tribe Amygdaleae |
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Phenology | Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting May–Nov. | |
Habitat | Stream bottoms, thickets, wooded uplands, maritime forests, naturalizing in urban woodlands | |
Elevation | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) | |
Distribution |
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX
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North America; Mexico; Central America; South America; Eurasia; Africa; Australia [Widely introduced] |
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.) |
Genus 1, species 200+ (44 in the flora). The base chromosome number for Amygdaleae is x = 8. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 361. | FNA vol. 9, p. 352. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae |
Sibling taxa | ||
Subordinate taxa | ||
Synonyms | Padus caroliniana, Lauro-cerasus caroliniana | |
Name authority | (Miller) Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 163. (1789) | de Candolle: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 2: 529. (1825) |
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