Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Rosales > Rosaceae > Prunus > Prunus ilicifolia

Prunus ilicifolia (hollyleaf cherry)

Synonyms: Lauro-cerasus ilicifolia (homotypic)

Wikipedia Abstract

Prunus ilicifolia (Common names: "hollyleaf cherry", "evergreen cherry"; "islay" - Salinan Native American) It is native to the chaparral areas of coastal California (from Mendocino County to San Diego County), Baja California, and Baja California Sur. as well as the desert chaparral areas of the Mojave desert.
View Wikipedia Record: Prunus ilicifolia

Infraspecies

Prunus ilicifolia ilicifolia (Hollyleaf cherry)
Prunus ilicifolia occidentalis

Attributes

Air Quality Improvement [1]  Low
Allergen Potential [1]  Medium-High
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]  0.73
Structure [2]  Shrub
Usage [2]  A green dye can be obtained from the leaves; A dark grey to green dye can be obtained from the fruit; Wood - heavy, hard, strong, close grained. Usually too small to be of commercial importance, it is used mainly as a fuel;
Height [2]  13.12 feet (4 m)
Width [1]  21 feet (6.3 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 ilicifolia

Protected Areas

Name IUCN Category Area acres Location Species Website Climate Land Use
Mojave and Colorado Deserts Biosphere Reserve 5901 California, United States  
Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center 6101 California, United States
San Dimas Biosphere Reserve 17161 California, United States  

Predators

Range Map

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
♦ 3USDA Plants Database, U. S. Department of Agriculture
♦ 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.
♦ 5HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández
♦ 6Ben-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