Prunus ilicifolia |
Prunus eremophila |
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Catalina cherry, evergreen cherry, holly leaf cherry, islay |
desert plum, Mojave desert plum |
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Habit | Shrubs or trees, sometimes suckering, 10–150 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs, suckering unknown, much branched, 10–25 dm, weakly thorny. | ||||
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with axillary end buds, canescent. |
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Leaves | persistent; petiole 3–25 mm, glabrous, eglandular; blade oblong-ovate to ovate-lanceolate or ovate to suborbiculate, 1.6–12 × 1.2–5(–7) cm, base usually broadly rounded to subcordate, sometimes obtuse, margins spinose-dentate to spinose-serrulate or entire, sometimes undulate, teeth sharp, callus-tipped, sometimes glandular at leaf base, apex acute to acuminate, surfaces glabrous, abaxial eglandular, if glands present, restricted to margins. |
deciduous; petiole 0.5–3(–5) mm, hairy, eglandular; blade ovate, obovate, or spatulate, 0.5–2(–3) × 0.2–1(–2) cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins irregularly serrate, teeth usually sharp, eglandular, sometimes blunt, obscurely glandular, apex obtuse to rounded, often mucronate, surfaces hairy. |
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Inflorescences | 15–40-flowered, racemes; central axes 30–80 mm, leafless at bases. |
solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles. |
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Pedicels | 1–5 mm, glabrous. |
0–3 mm, puberulent. |
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Flowers | blooming before leaf emergence; hypanthium cupulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals erect to spreading, triangular, 0.7–1.2 mm, margins entire, surfaces usually glabrous, rarely with scattered hairs; petals white to yellowish, elliptic, obovate, or suborbiculate, 1–3 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
unisexual, plants dioecious, blooming at leaf emergence; hypanthium campanulate, 2–4 mm, hairy externally; sepals erect, triangular, 1–2 mm, margins entire, sparsely ciliate, abaxial surface densely hairy, adaxial glabrous or slightly hairy; petals white, elliptic, rhombic, ovate, or suborbiculate, 2.5–6 mm, abaxial surfaces hairy; ovaries hairy. |
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Drupes | dark red to purple or blue-black, obovoid or ellipsoid to globose, 12–25 mm, glabrous; mesocarps leathery; stones subglobose to ellipsoid, ± flattened. |
yellowish orange, obovoid to ovoid, 9–16 mm, velutinous; mesocarps leathery to dry; stones subglobose to ovoid, slightly flattened. |
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Prunus ilicifolia |
Prunus eremophila |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Apr; fruiting May–Jun. | |||||
Habitat | Desert washes, rocky slopes | |||||
Elevation | 900–1200 m (3000–3900 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
CA; nw Mexico
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CA |
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. Prunus eremophila is endemic to the southern Mojave Desert and has so far been collected only from the East Mojave Natural Preserve in eastern San Bernardino County. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 362. | FNA vol. 9, p. 371. | ||||
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Cerasus ilicifolia | |||||
Name authority | (Nuttall ex Hooker & Arnott) D. Dietrich: Syn. Pl. 3: 43. (1842) | Prigge: Madroño 49: 285, figs. 1, 2. (2003) | ||||
Web links |