''Prunus lusitanica'', the Portuguese laurel cherry or Portugal laurel, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

in the rose

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Rosaceae,

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to southwestern France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and Macaronesia (the Azores, Canary Islands and Madeira).Euro+Med Plantbase Project
''Prunus lusitanica''
The split between the two subspecies (subsp. ''azorica'', found in the Azores, and subsp. ''hixa'' / subsp. ''lusitanica'', found elsewhere) is dated around the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

or small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

growing to 3-8m tall (though it can reach 15-20m in cultivation). The

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, e ...

is smooth and dark-grey. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

are alternate, oval, 7–15 cm long and 3–5 cm broad, with an acute apex and a dentate margin, glossy dark green above, lighter below. They superficially resemble those of the

bay laurel ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cookin ...

, which accounts for its often being mistaken for one. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

s are small (10–15 mm diameter) with five small white petals; they are produced on erect or spreading

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s 15–25 cm long in late spring. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

is a small cherry-like

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part ( exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel ...

8–13 mm in diameter, green or reddish green at first, turning dark purple or black when ripe in late summer or early autumn.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins .

Distribution and habitat

Prunus lusitanica Frutos 2010-9-26 DehesaBoyaldePuertollano

''Prunus lusitanica'' is rare in the wild, found mainly along mountain streams, preferring sunshine and moist but well-drained soils. It is moderately drought-tolerant. It reproduces either sexually (the most successful method) or asexually by cloning from shoots.Alarcon, J. A. C. (2001). ''Geobotany and Conservation Biology Study on Prunus lusitanica L. Iberian populations''. Departamento de Biologia. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid. Availabl
online
(pdf file).

Name

The species was first scientifically described by Linnaeus in ''Species Plantarum'' in 1753. Its

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...

''lusitanica'' means "of Lusitania", referring to the Roman name for Portugal.

Subspecies

Three

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all specie ...

are accepted: *''Prunus lusitanica'' subsp. ''lusitanica''. Mainland Europe. *''Prunus lusitanica'' subsp. ''azorica'' (Mouill.) Franco. Azores.Note: common names for ''Prunus lusitanica azorica'' include Ginja, Gingeira-brava and Ginjeira-do-Mato. *''Prunus lusitanica'' subsp. ''hixa'' (Willd.) Franco. Canary Islands, Madeira, Morocco.

Cultivation

''Prunus lusitanica'' is grown as an ornamental shrub and is widely planted as a

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoi ...

and for screening in gardens and parks. It is introduced and locally

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

in the

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

zone in northern France, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Western Canada- including the southern BC Mainland and Vancouver Island From Victoria Up Island through the Cowichan, Nanaimo and Parksville as well as the western United States in California, Oregon and Washington State. Similar to its relative ''

Prunus laurocerasus ''Prunus laurocerasus'', also known as cherry laurel, common laurel and sometimes English laurel in North America, is an evergreen species of cherry ('' Prunus''), native to regions bordering the Black Sea in southwestern Asia and southeastern ...

'', ''P. lusitanica'' has been recognized by some botanists and land managers in both western Washington and Oregon as invasive. It is thought to have spread from cultivated areas into natural areas by birds who consume the fruit and then defecate the seeds away from the source plant. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Toxicity

The leaves of ''Prunus lusitanica'' contain

cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

and will release this into the environment if burnt, or if crushed. The fruit is somewhat edible if fully ripe, but if it is bitter, it is toxic and should not be eaten.Plants for a Future
''Prunus lusitanica''
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1969110 lusitanica Flora of France Flora of Spain Flora of Portugal Flora of Morocco Flora of Macaronesia Flora of the Azores Flora of the Canary Islands Flora of Madeira Garden plants of Africa Garden plants of Europe Drought-tolerant plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN Flora of the Mediterranean Basin