This Prunus spp. thrives in our lower yard here in the East Bay, with almost no water. It provides a thick, high hedge between the backyard and a busy street. The leaves are thick and leathery, and help absorb the sound of rush hour traffic. The title conveys that I think this is a hollyleaf cherry, but truthfully I don't know. I'm claiming it until I learn otherwise, based on this photo from CalPhotos and other research!
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| Hollyleaf cherry |
Hollyleaf cherry (Prunus ilicifolia) is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the Rosaceae family. It grows from 8 to 30 feet tall, and is native to the chaparral areas of coastal California (from Mendocino County to San Diego County) and Baja California, and to the desert chaparral areas of the Mojave desert. The leaves are thick, alternate, and 2 to 5 inches long. The flowers are small, white, and produced on racemes in the spring. The fruit is a cherry or drupe, edible and sweet, but with very little flesh around the smooth seed.
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| Hedge of hollyleaf cherry |
Prunus ilicifolia is used in California native plant and wildlife gardens, and in drought-tolerant sustainable landscaping. It is a larval host to the California hairstreak, Lorquin's admiral, Nevada buckmoth, and tiger swallowtail butterfly, and a food source for the caterpillars of the pale swallowtail butterfly. Hollyleaf cherry is browsed by California mule deer and bighorn sheep, typically in late summer or fall when other herbaceous species are unavailable. The purple to black berries are consumed by songbirds and rodents, and the seeds are eaten by other small mammals. The foliage provides nesting and hiding cover for numerous birds and small mammals. Bees are attracted to the flowers.
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| Hollyleaf cherry drupes |
Plants that are frequently found growing with Prunus ilicifolia include scrub oak (Quercus dumosa), California buckeye (Aesculus californica), California bay (Umbellularia californica), toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), redberry (Rhamnus crocea), and California coffeeberry (R. californica). Hollyleaf cherry seeds readily and does not require fire to sprout. I value our hedges of hollyleaf cherry for the privacy and habitat they provide on our small urban lot.
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