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Help Identifying Tree/Shrub

15 years ago

I'll get some photos tomorrow.

Description of tree is this:

It is about 20ft tall. Every so often a few show up in other areas of the property.

Leaves are thick, dark green, and glossy.

The bark and leaves look almost like a camella. Very smooth grey/silver bark. I mistook one growing next to a Camella as an offspring. The difference is the Camella leaves turn slightly inward and this plant has a slight bend in the middle.

The flowers (summer) are tiny white bunches with a very strong sugary odor.

Could be invasive if one doesn't stay on top of it.

It is somewhat evergreen

Drops some leaves all year round

Grows very fast

Has small, purple, round, berries from late fall to early spring. A few types of birds eat the berries but, most do not.

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Comments (3)

kman04
15 years ago
From your description it kind of sounds like Chinaberry (Melia azedarach), although some of your description doesn't quite fit. But that's my early guess, until I see photos.
xineohpinakc
Original Author
15 years ago
Carolina Cherry Laurel
Prunus caroliniana

Thanks Kman04 I found it quite by accident while looking at a Mountain Laurel page. Kinda funny that I have been searching for the name of it for two years and just stumble upon it while asking someone.
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Help identifying tree/shrub!
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Comments (13)
Probably Prunus cerasifera - a hallmark of this one is the sepals reflexing after the flower has been open for a time, something that cannot be seen one way or the other (reflexing or not reflexing) in your picture. So far I have never seen sloe in North America. I have been in Britain during the time of year it was in bloom there. It does not look like plum trees - more like a sort of deciduous Pyracantha in general aspect. Otherwise what is seen coming up around here (and where I have been in California) is orchard plum (P. domestica and other names). But by far the dominant one is P. cerasifera, as that is used as rootstock for the very frequently planted purple-leaved plums and is also able to come up from seed, on its own.
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Help identify tree, shrub????
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Comments (4)
see if this will work - it should be a guest pass http://flickr.com/gp/37463545@N04/Rf903P Here is a link that might be useful: Flickr photos+guest pass
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Need help identifying this tree/shrub
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Comments (2)
Looks like a crabapple. These don't generally get very large - somewhere around 12-18' and as wide - but there are some older varieties that can get bigger and also a good many that stay quite small.
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Mystery Trees
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Comments (1)
Hi, without making it too complicated, please just use the Oz Garden Gallery. You can post Mystery tree 1 and a message about the description, then before you submit you will see a button to insert an image.... go to your hard drive and "open" the file you want to insert. BUT it has to be under 61k to be accepted. Or, if they are not too big photos you can e-mail them to me (click on my name, go to my page, go to "send an e-mail" and you can attach your pics and I'll try to post them for you) Ali
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Embothrium
15 years ago
Your description makes it sound more like waxleaf privet - particularly the part about the leaves being thick and like those of a camellia etc.

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