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Prunus ilicifolia (Hook. & Arn.) Walp.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Prunus ilicifolia' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/prunus/prunus-ilicifolia/). Accessed 2025-04-19.

Family

  • Rosaceae

Genus

Synonyms

  • Cerasus ilicifolia Hook. & Arn.
  • Laurocerasus ilicifolia (Hook. & Arn.) Roem.

Glossary

glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Prunus ilicifolia' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/prunus/prunus-ilicifolia/). Accessed 2025-04-19.

Prunus ilicifolia

Prunus ilicifolia.

An evergreen shrub of compact habit; branchlets glabrous. Leaves ovate, 1 to 2 in. long, 3⁄4 to 11⁄4 in wide; rounded or slightly heart-shaped at the base, sharply toothed, the hollows between the teeth wide and rounded, dark glossy green, glabrous on both surfaces. Flowers in racemes 11⁄2 to 3 in. long, produced in summer; each flower 1⁄3 in. across, white, on a stalk 1⁄6 in. long. Fruits roundish, but slightly pointed at the end, 1⁄2 in. in diameter, changing to red, then black-purple.

Native of California, and too tender to be of much value in any but the mildest parts of the British Isles as a shrub for the open ground. But on a sunny wall it should survive all but the hardest winters once it is established and flower well, at least in warm summers. Closely related to this species is:

Prunus ilicifolia

The leathery, sharp-toothed leaves of Prunus ilicifolia at le Jardin Botanique de la Villa Thuret, Antibes, France. 29th June 2022. Image Tom Christian.

Prunus ilicifolia

The leathery, sharp-toothed leaves of Prunus ilicifolia at le Jardin Botanique de la Villa Thuret, Antibes, France. 29th June 2022. Image Tom Christian.

Prunus ilicifolia

Although an evergreen 'shrub of compact habit' to Bean, Prunus ilicifolia can form a medium sized tree in a Mediterranean climate, as at le Jardin Botanique de la Villa Thuret, Antibes, France. 29th June 2022. Image Tom Christian.

P caroliniana (Mill.) Ait.

Synonyms
Padus caroliniana Mill

Another N. American cherry laurel and equally tender. Loudon states that in 1833 there was a bush 10 ft high at Swallowfield in Hampshire, but this is very doubtful. It was probably some form of common cherry laurel, wrongly named. P. caroliniana has entire leaves 3 to 4{1/2} in. long, oblong-lanceolate; flowers creamy white, in short racemes; and black, shining, oblong fruit, {1/2} in. long. A native of S.E. United States, where it is used, much as the common laurel is here, to make hedges. Originally introduced in 1759, and many times since, it has never long survived, unless it be in some of the south-western counties.

var. occidentalis Brandegee

Synonyms
Prunus integrifolia Sarg., not Walp.
Prunus lyonii (Eastw.) Sarg.

This grows taller than P. ilicifolia and has almost entire leaves, racemes up to 5 in. long and dark fruits. Native of several islands off the coast of California, including Sta Catalina.

Prunus ilicifolia var. occidentalis

Prunus ilicifolia var. occidentalis (Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego Co., California. 1 July 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Prunus ilicifolia var. occidentalis

Developing fruit on Prunus ilicifolia var. occidentalis (Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego Co., California. 1 July 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Prunus ilicifolia var. occidentalis

Developing fruit on Prunus ilicifolia var. occidentalis (Torrey Pines State Reserve, San Diego Co., California. 1 July 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

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