Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Rosales > Rosaceae > Prunus > Prunus lusitanica

Prunus lusitanica (Portugal laurel)

Synonyms:

Wikipedia Abstract

Prunus lusitanica, the Portugal laurel, is a species of the genus Prunus, related to the cherry. It is native to southwestern France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and Macaronesia (the Azores, Canary Islands and Madeira).
View Wikipedia Record: Prunus lusitanica

Infraspecies

Cerasus lusitanica var. lusitanica
Lauro-cerasus lusitanica var. lusitanica
Prunus lusitanica var. azorica
Prunus lusitanica var. lusitanica

Attributes

Air Quality Improvement [1]  Low
Allergen Potential [1]  Medium
Carbon Capture [1]  Low
Shade Percentage [1]  80 %
Temperature Reduction [1]  Low
Wind Reduction [1]  Low
Edible [2]  May be edible. See the Plants For A Future link below for details.
Flower Type [2]  Hermaphrodite
Hazards [2]  Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, it belongs to a genus where most, if not all members of the genus produce hydrogen cyanide, a poison that gives almonds their characteristic flavour. This toxin is found mainly in the leaves and seed and is readily detected by its bitter taste. It is usually present in too small a quantity to do any harm but any very bitter seed or fruit should not be eaten. In small quantities, hydrogen cyanide has been shown to stimulate respiration and improve digestion, it is also claimed to be of benefit in the treatment of cancer. In excess, however, it can cause respiratory failure and even death.
Leaf Type [2]  Evergreen
Lifespan [3]  Perennial
Pollinators [2]  Insects, Lepidoptera
Scent [2]  The flowers are sweetly scented;
Specific Gravity [4]  0.61
Structure [2]  Shrub
Usage [2]  A very good plant for a low windbreak; It is also used as a medium to tall hedge and for topiary; A green dye can be obtained from the leaves; A dark grey to green dye can be obtained from the fruit;
Height [2]  20 feet (6 m)
Width [2]  20 feet (6 m)
Hardiness Zone Minimum [1]  USDA Zone: 7 Low Temperature: 0 F° (-17.8 C°) → 10 F° (-12.2 C°)
Hardiness Zone Maximum [1]  USDA Zone: 9 Low Temperature: 20 F° (-6.7 C°) → 30 F° (-1.1 C°)
Water Use [1]  Moderate
View Plants For A Future Record : Prunus lusitanica

Protected Areas

Name IUCN Category Area acres Location Species Website Climate Land Use
Isle of Rum National Nature Reserve   Scotland, United Kingdom

Predators

Consumers

Parasitized by 
Podosphaera tridactyla[5]

External References

USDA Plant Profile

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1i-Tree Species v. 4.0, developed by the USDA Forest Service's Northern Research Station and SUNY-ESF using the Horticopia, Inc. plant database.
♦ 2Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 3PLANTATT - Attributes of British and Irish Plants: Status, Size, Life History, Geography and Habitats, M. O. Hill, C. D. Preston & D. B. Roy, Biological Records Centre, NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (2004)
♦ 4Chave J, Coomes D, Jansen S, Lewis SL, Swenson NG, Zanne AE (2009) Towards a worldwide wood economics spectrum. Ecology Letters 12: 351-366. Zanne AE, Lopez-Gonzalez G, Coomes DA, Ilic J, Jansen S, Lewis SL, Miller RB, Swenson NG, Wiemann MC, Chave J (2009) Data from: Towards a worldwide wood economics spectrum. Dryad Digital Repository.
♦ 5Jorrit H. Poelen, James D. Simons and Chris J. Mungall. (2014). Global Biotic Interactions: An open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics.
♦ 6Biological Records Centre Database of Insects and their Food Plants
♦ 7Ben-Dov, Y., Miller, D.R. & Gibson, G.A.P. ScaleNet 4 November 2009
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0