''Prunus occidentalis'' is a

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

in the family

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

of the order

Rosales Rosales () is an order of flowering plants. Peter F. Stevens (2001 onwards). "Rosales". At: Trees At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''External links'' below) It is sister to a clade consisting of Faga ...

.''Cerasus occidentalis (Sw.) Dum. Cours.''
Tropicos. Retrieved 2 September 2013.

Common names

Its

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

common names include almendrón. Its English common name is the western cherry laurel.

Distribution and habitat

The plant can be found in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

.''Prunus occidentalis Sw., Almendrón: Rosaceae, Familia de las rosas.''
Salvador E. Alemañy-Merly. U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved 2 September 2013. It is commonly found in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

''Prunus occidentalis Sw.; western cherry laurel.''
USDA. Natural Resources Conservation Service. Plants Database. Retrieved 2 September 2013. and particularly in the

Toro Negro State Forest Toro Negro State Forest (Spanish: ''Bosque Estatal de Toro Negro'') is one of the 21 forests that make up the public forests system in Puerto Rico. It is also Puerto Rico's highest cloud forest. It is in the Cordillera Central region of the is ...

. It has been introduced to

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

.''Bosques de Puerto Rico: Bosque Estatal de Toro Negro.''
Hojas de Nuestro Ambiente. July 2008. ublication/Issue: P-030Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. (In Spanish) Retrieved 2 September 2013.

References

occidentalis Trees of Mexico Trees of Central America Trees of the Caribbean Taxa named by Olof Swartz {{rosid-tree-stub