Cherry Laurel

Appearance

"Prunus laurocerasus" is an evergreen shrub or small to medium-sized tree, growing to 5 to 15 metres tall, rarely to 18 metres, with a trunk up to 60 cm broad. The leaves are dark green, leathery, shiny, 10–25 cm long and 4–10 cm broad, with a finely serrated margin. The leaves can have the scent of almonds when crushed. The flower buds appear in early spring and open in early summer in erect 7–15 cm racemes of 30–40 flowers, each flower 1 cm across, with five creamy-white petals and numerous yellowish stamens with a sweet smell. The fruit is a small cherry 1–2 cm broad, turning black when ripe in early autumn.

Naming

The common names of "P. laurocerasus" refer to the similarity of foliage and appearance to bay laurel, and like the bay laurel, "Prunus laurocerasus" was used for making laurel wreaths, but the two plants are unrelated. It is not to be confused with its American relative "Prunus caroliniana", which is also called cherry laurel.

Habitat

The species is found in woods and in shrubbery places as an escape in Northern Ireland and commonly planted in parks and gardens.

Defense

Leaves and seed may cause severe discomfort to humans if ingested. The seeds contained within the cherries are poisonous like the rest of the plant, containing cyanogenic glycosides and amygdalin. This chemical composition is what gives the smell of almonds when the leaves are crushed. Laurel water, a distillation made from the plant, contains prussic acid and other compounds and is toxic.

Uses

The foliage is also used for cut greenery in floristry.

According to Dr. Chiranjit Parmar on fruitpedia.com, who has a Ph.D. in horticulture from University of Udaipur, India, "the fruits are edible, although rather bland and somewhat astringent". The fruit contain small amounts of hydrogen cyanide; any fruit tasting bitter should not be eaten. The seed inside the fruit contain larger concentrations of hydrogen cyanide, and should never be eaten. The toxicity of the seed inside the fruit is similar to the cyanide toxicity of the seeds inside the common fruits apricot and peach.