Prunus ilicifolia

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Hollyleaf cherry
Prunus ilicifolia ne1.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Prunus
Species:
P. ilicifolia
Binomial name
Prunus ilicifolia
Prunus ilicifolia range map 3.png
Natural range of Prunus ilicifolia (var. ilicifolia green; var. occidentalis blue)
Synonyms[2][3]
  • Cerasus ilicifolia Nutt. ex Hook. & Arn.
  • Laurocerasus ilicifolia (Nutt. ex Hook. & Arn.) M.Roem.
  • Lauro-cerasus ilicifolia (Nutt. ex Hook. & Arn.) M.Roem.
  • Prunus lyonii (Eastw.) Sarg.

Prunus ilicifolia (Common names: hollyleaf cherry,[4] evergreen cherry;[5] islay - Salinan Native American[6]) is native to the chaparral areas of coastal California (from Mendocino County to San Diego County), Baja California, and Baja California Sur.[5][7] as well as the desert chaparral areas of the Mojave desert.[8][9]

Prunus ilicifolia is an evergreen shrub[4] to tree, producing edible cherries, with shiny and spiny toothed leaves[4] similar in appearance to those of holly. This resemblance is the source of both the common name "holly-leaved cherry" and the scientific epithet "ilicifolia" (Ilex-leaved). It grows 2.4 to 9.1 metres (8 to 30 feet) tall, with thick, alternate leaves 2.5 to 5.1 centimetres (1 to 2 inches) in length.[4] It has small white flowers growing in clusters, similar in appearance to most members of the rose family, Rosaceae, flowering from March to May.[4] The flowers are terminal on small stalks, with the youngest at the cluster center. The purple to black fruit is sweet, with a very thin pulp around a large single stone (drupe).[4][10]

The plant is prized for cultivation, showy and easily grown from seed, and has been cultivated for centuries as a food source, and tolerates twice yearly pruning when often used as a hedge.[4] The plant likes full sun, loose open soil (porous), and tolerates drought conditions well, but needs regular watering when young.[4]

Despite its name, it is not a true cherry (P. subg. Cerasus) species. It is traditionally included in P. subg. Laurocerasus, but molecular research indicates it is nested with species of P. subg. Padus.[11] Ilicifolia or “ilex foliage,” means “holly-like leaves” in Latin[4]

Description[edit]

Prunus ilicifolia flowers

It is an evergreen shrub[4] or small tree approaching 15 metres (49 feet) in height,[12] with dense, hard leaves[4] (sclerophyllous foliage). The leaves are 1.6–12 centimetres (3⁄4–4+3⁄4 inches) long with a 4–25 millimetres (1⁄8–1 in) petiole[12] and spiny margins, somewhat resembling those of the holly. The leaves are dark green when mature and generally shiny on top, and have a smell resembling almonds when crushed; these are poisonous to eat, but not to handle.[13] The flowers are small (1–5 mm), white, produced on racemes in the spring. The fruit is a cherry 12–25 mm in diameter, sweet in taste, with little flesh surrounding the smooth seed.[12][14][15]

Subspecies[edit]

There are two subspecies:[16][17][18]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

Prunus ilicifolia is native to California chaparral and foothill woodlands along the Coast Ranges below 1,600 m (5,200 ft).[12] Its distribution extends from northern Baja California along the California coast to the northernmost extent of the Coast Ranges,[12] as well as into the desert chaparral areas of the Mojave desert. In chaparral communities, it tends to inhabit north-facing slopes, erosion channels, or other moist, cool sites.[5] This is the only species of the genus Prunus native to California's Santa Monica Mountains, which divide the Los Angeles Basin from the San Fernando Valley.[4]

It is a persistent member of chaparral communities, being slow-growing but long-lived; common chaparral flora associates are toyon, western poison-oak and coffeeberry.[19] In the absence of fire, P. ilicifolia will outlive or outshade surrounding vegetation, making room for seedlings. Eventually, it will form extensive stands codominated by scrub oak.[5]

Ecology[edit]

The leaf shape resembles that of English holly

Although it will resprout from the stump after fires, the seeds are not fire-adapted like those of many other chaparral plants.[20] Instead, it relies on the natural death of surrounding vegetation during long periods of fire-free conditions to make room for its seedlings.[5]

Though the seeds are often reported to require sunlight to germinate,[20] germination rates of nearly 100% have been achieved with wild-collected seed buried completely in pots with a peatlite mix.[21]

The caterpillars of the pale swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) feed on this and other members of the riparian woodland plant community.[18] It is also a larval host to the California hairstreak, Lorquin's admiral, Nevada buckmoth, and tiger swallowtail.[22] Bees are attracted to it.[4]

Cultivation[edit]

Prunus ilicifolia is used in California native plants and wildlife gardens, and drought-tolerant sustainable landscaping.[23]

Uses[edit]

The pulp of the cherry is edible.[4] Native Americans fermented the fruit into an intoxicating drink.[4] Some also cracked the dried cherries and made meal from the seeds after grinding and leaching them.[24] It has also been made into jam.[25]

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prunus ilicifolia.
  1. ^ IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group & Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) (2020). "Prunus ilicifolia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T64122457A152907500. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  2. ^ The Plant List, Cerasus ilicifolia Nutt. ex Hook. & Arn
  3. ^ Tropicos, Prunus ilicifolia (Nutt. ex Hook. & Arn.) D. Dietr.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Dale, Nancy (1985). Flowering Plants of the Santa Monica Mountains, Coastal & Chaparral Regions of Southern California. Santa Barbara: Capra. p. 172. ISBN 9780884962397. OCLC 12370484.
  5. ^ a b c d e Fire Effects Information Service, USDA Forest Service: Prunus ilicifolia
  6. ^ E.G. Gudde (1946). The Solution of the Islay Problem. California Folklore Quarterly 5 (3): 298-299 (Gudde concludes that the word "islay" originated in a Salinan word slay; Islay was the Spanish version of their word).
  7. ^ "Prunus ilicifolia". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  8. ^ Calflora taxon report, University of California, Prunus ilicifolia (Nutt.) Walp., Holly leaved Cherry, holly leaf cherry, hollyleaf cherry
  9. ^ SEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapter photos and distribution map
  10. ^ Jan Timbrook (December 1982). "Use of Wild Cherry Pits as Food by the California Indians" (PDF). Journal of Ethnobiology. Santa Barbara, California. 2 (2): 163. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  11. ^ Wen, Jun; Berggren, Scott T.; Lee, Chung-Hee; Ickert-Bond, Stefanie; Yi, Ting-Shuang; Yoo, Ki-Oug; Xie, Lei; Shaw, Joey; Potter, Dan (2008-04-25). "Phylogenetic inferences in Prunus (Rosaceae) using chloroplast ndhF and nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences". Journal of Systematics and Evolution. 46 (3): 322–332. doi:10.3724/SP.J.1002.2008.08065 (inactive 31 December 2022). ISSN 1674-4918.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of December 2022 (link)
  12. ^ a b c d e Jepson Flora: Prunus ilicifolia
  13. ^ Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 543.
  14. ^ Munz, Philip A. 1973. A California flora and supplement. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
  15. ^ Conrad, C. E. (1987). Common shrubs of chaparral and associated ecosystems of southern California. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-99. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station.
  16. ^ Jepson Flora: Prunus ilicifolia subsp. ilicifolia
  17. ^ Jepson Flora: Prunus ilicifolia subsp. lyonii
  18. ^ a b Schoenherr, A. A. (1993). A Natural History of California. University of California Press, Berkeley.
  19. ^ Hogan, C. Michael (2008) Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), GlobalTwitcher, ed. N. Stromberg "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-07-19. Retrieved 2009-08-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. ^ a b Keeley, Jon E. 1987. Role of fire in seed germination of woody taxa in California chaparral. Ecology 68(2): 434-443; cited in FEIS
  21. ^ Mirov, N. T., & Kraebel, C. J. (1937). Collecting and propagating the seeds of California wild plants. Research Note 18: 1-27. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, California Forest and Range Experiment Station
  22. ^ Black, Scott Hoffman (2016). Gardening for butterflies : how you can attract and protect beautiful, beneficial insects. Xerces Society. Portland, Oregon. ISBN 978-1-60469-761-2. OCLC 945564211.
  23. ^ "A California-Friendly Guide to Native and Drought Tolerant Gardens". Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.
  24. ^ Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p. 417. ISBN 0-394-73127-1.
  25. ^ Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 544.

External links[edit]

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