PRUNUS LUSITANICA SSP. LUSITANICA

Common Name:             Palo de loro
Scientific Name:        Prunus lusitanica ssp. lusitanica
Categories:                    Timber

Where is it found?

The species is found in France, Morocco, Spain and Portugal, although the only confirmed native location is in Basque France, in the Vallée des Aldudes.

This sub-species is also fully naturalised in New Zealand though and is considered a weedy exotic. It is also listed in the Global Compendium of Weeds

Why is it threatened?

The species has an extremely limited range and this is thought to be due to the fact it is a relict species from the Tertiary (over 1.8 million years ago) when the climate was much wetter. Increasingly dry conditions in the region are thought to be one factor in the tree's decline. Other threats include fire, overcutting and forest management activities.

What conservation action is needed?

Prunus lusitanica is fully protected in France (on the National List) by Ministerial decree of 20 January 1982, in which destruction, collection and sale are prohibited. Further action is needed to protect the areas where the tree still remains.

Selected references

Profile kindly given by Hugh Synge, Plant Talk. Updated in 2010 by GTC.

Fabienne Benest, Ministère Aménagement du Territoire et Environnement, Direction de la Nature et des Paysages, Paris, France, August 2000.

RIBEIRO M.M, ANTUNES M.A. 1997. Enraizamento de estacas de azereiro (Prunus lusitanica L. ssp. lusitanica) após realização de ferida e aplicação de auxina. I Congresso Florestal Hispano-Luso, 21-27 June. Pamplona. 3:527-532.

RIBEIRO M.M, ANTUNES M.A. 1996. Propagação vegetativa do azereiro (Prunus lusitanica ssp. lusitanica): uma via para a sua conservação? 1º Encontro Nacional de Ecologia, SPECO, 6-7 December. Lisbon, p. 26.

http://nzflora.landcareresearch.co.nz

www.hear.org/gcw/html/autogend/species/15652.HTM

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