Leaves ovate (egg-shaped, a bit wider toward the base), ~2-5 cm long, on a short petiole (~1-2.5 cm long), very sclerophyllous, almost crispy, and glabrous to the point of shiny. Dark green on top and lighter green underneath. Leaf veining is pinnate, branching off from the midrib axis. Leaf margin is irregularly toothed and sometimes entire, not spinose. If you crush the leaves, they have an almond-like smell. Flowers are small with 5 white petals ~2-3 mm long, many stamens surrounding a single yellow pistil. The flowers can be dense or sparse, borne along racemes (spikes with flowers branching off it) ~3-6 cm long coming out of leaf axils (where leaf petioles join the stems). Blooms from March to May. The fruit is a blue-black drupe, a cherry, ~1.5-2.5 cm across. The cherry is safe to eat and sweet, but the flesh is very thin. The pits, however, are toxic. The plant forms a dense, evergreen tree up to 15 m tall, with grey or reddish-brown stems and twigs. It is in the same species as hollyleaf cherry described in the shrubs section, but it is a distinct variety evolved in the isolation of the Channel Islands, where it can be found under 600 m. There is debate about whether those seen on Palos Verdes are native to the Peninsula (since it was once a Channel Island) or naturalized escapees from cultivation, where they readily hybridize with the mainland hollyleaf cherry. This subspecies is now encountered in several central and southern coastal California counties, where it is categorized as an escaped cultivar (or feral domesticated plant).
Prunus ilicifolia subsp. lyonii aka Prunus lyonii (Rosaceae): Catalina cherry or island cherry or hollyleaf cherry
The development of this key was partially funded through the Geoscience Diversity Enhancement Program (Award #0703798) and through a course of re-assigned time provided by the CSULB Scholarly and Creative Activities Committee. Thanks also to the students in sections of biogeography, introductory physical geography, GDEP, and LSAMP for "test-driving" various editions of this key.