Prunus dulcis |
Prunus caroliniana |
|
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almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond |
Carolina cherry laurel or laurel cherry, Carolina laurelcherry, laurier amande |
|
Habit | Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs or trees, not suckering, 40–120 dm, not thorny. |
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
Leaves | deciduous; petiole (8–)10–25 mm, usually winged distally, glabrous, usually glandular distally or on margins at bases of blades; blade oblong to lanceolate, 2.5–10 × 1–3 cm, base obtuse, margins crenulate-serrulate to crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrous. |
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. |
Inflorescences | solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles. |
12–30-flowered, racemes; central axes 13–30(–43) mm, leafless at bases. |
Pedicels | 1–5 mm, glabrous. |
1–4 mm, glabrous. |
Flowers | blooming before leaf emergence; hypanthium cupulate, 4–7 mm, glabrous externally; sepals erect-spreading to spreading, oblong-ovate, 4–8 mm, margins entire, tomentose, surfaces glabrous; petals pink to nearly white, obovate, elliptic, or suborbiculate, 12–25 mm; ovaries 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. |
Drupes | gray-green, ovoid-oblong, compressed, 25–40 mm, velutinous; mesocarps leathery (splitting); stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted. |
black, ovoid, 9–12 mm, glabrous; mesocarps leathery; stones ovoid, not flattened, usually splitting open. |
2n | = 16. |
= 32. |
Prunus dulcis |
Prunus caroliniana |
|
Phenology | Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. | Flowering Feb–Apr; fruiting May–Nov. |
Habitat | Roadsides, canyons, grasslands | Stream bottoms, thickets, wooded uplands, maritime forests, naturalizing in urban woodlands |
Elevation | 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
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AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX
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Discussion | The United States now dominates world almond production with over 40% of the annual crop, all of it grown in or near the Central Valley of California. The in-shell “nuts” sold in stores are the pits of drupes with the leathery mesocarp removed. Almond is among the earliest blossoming trees and one of the first signs of spring in areas where it is grown. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 372. | FNA vol. 9, p. 361. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Amygdalus dulcis, A. communis, P. amygdalus | Padus caroliniana, Lauro-cerasus caroliniana |
Name authority | (Miller) D. A. Webb: Feddes Repert. 74: 24. (1967) | (Miller) Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 163. (1789) |
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