Prunus subg. Laurocerasus
Content
Description
Evergreen, rarely deciduous trees and shrubs.
Leaves with entire or incised margin, basal glands either flat and on the underside of the blade, or flat to cushion-shaped and in the margin, or on the petiole.
Inflorescence a raceme, usually simple but sometimes branched, the racemes sometimes placed in bundles, in axils of extant or fallen leaves or cataphylls.
Taxonomy
The inclusion of Pygeum in Prunus subg. Laurocerasus was elaborated and explained in Blumea 13 (1965).
Laurocerasus and Padus were united into one subgenus of Prunus by , but nowadays it is more usual to keep them as separate subgenera (if not as genera, see under the genus description).
The subgenus Laurocerasus can be divided into three sections, as explained in 1965:
Laurocerasus and Padus were united into one subgenus of Prunus by , but nowadays it is more usual to keep them as separate subgenera (if not as genera, see under the genus description).
The subgenus Laurocerasus can be divided into three sections, as explained in 1965:
- section Laurocerasus, also in Malesia;
- section Mesopygeum containing most but not all of the former genus Pygeum, predominantly Malesian;
- a section of South-, Central-, and some North-American species which does not yet have a formal name.
Uses
None of the species is a well-recognized source of useful timber, although of course the wood may be used locally. Medicinal uses of the bark are less often reported than could be expected from the presence of cyanogenetic glycosides. Culinary uses of the leaves are rare. In New Guinea bark of several species is used for the manufacturing of waist-belts, and it seems to be suitable for basket-work too.
Notes
The variation in fruit size is in some cases very large, as appears from the descriptions. This recorded variation is partly caused by the fact that measurements were taken from dried specimens, where it is often impossible to distinguish between full-grown fruits and the not yet fully developed ones. Especially in fruits with a fleshy mesocarp this may give significant differences in size. However, this will not be the only explanation and at least in some species (e.g. P. turneriana) natural variation seems to be large also within one individual.