Prunus ilicifolia |
Prunus mahaleb |
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Catalina cherry, evergreen cherry, holly leaf cherry, islay |
Mahaleb cherry, Mahaleb or perfumed or St. Lucie cherry, perfumed cherry, St. Lucie cherry |
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Habit | Shrubs or trees, sometimes suckering, 10–150 dm, not thorny. | Shrubs or trees, not suckering, 30–150 dm, not thorny. | ||||
Twigs | with terminal end buds, glabrous. |
with terminal end buds, densely puberulent. |
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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 4–20 mm, glabrous or ± puberulent on adaxial surface, sometimes glandular distally, glands 1–2, discoid; blade broadly ovate, oblong, or suborbiculate, 1.9–4.5 × 1.2–3.4 cm, base usually rounded to truncate, sometimes subcordate, margins crenate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex abruptly acuminate, apicula obtuse, surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes midribs and veins hairy abaxially. |
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Inflorescences | 15–40-flowered, racemes; central axes 30–80 mm, leafless at bases. |
4–10-flowered, corymbs; central axes 8–40 mm. |
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Pedicels | 1–5 mm, glabrous. |
6–18 mm (subtended by leafy bracts), glabrous. |
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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. |
blooming at leaf emergence; hypanthium conic-campanulate, 2–3 mm, glabrous externally; sepals reflexed, oblong, 1.3–2 mm, margins entire, surfaces glabrous; petals white, elliptic to obovate, 6–7 mm; ovaries glabrous. |
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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. |
dark red to black, ovoid, 6–10 mm, glabrous; mesocarps leathery; stones ellipsoid to subglobose, ± flattened. |
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2n | = 16. |
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Prunus ilicifolia |
Prunus mahaleb |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–May; fruiting Jun–Jul. | |||||
Habitat | Roadsides, stream banks, limestone bluffs and quarries, lowland thickets and woods, fencerows, chaparral | |||||
Elevation | 0–2300 m (0–7500 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
CA; nw Mexico
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AL; AR; CA; CT; DC; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; MI; MO; MT; NC; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; TN; UT; VA; WA; WV; BC; ON; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Prunus mahaleb was introduced to North America as a rootstock for commercial cherries and is now sometimes cultivated for its attractive and fragrant flowers. At one time, the aromatic wood was a favorite for tobacco pipes. (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. 366. | ||||
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) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 474. (1753) | ||||
Web links |
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