Prunus laurocerasus L.
cherry-laurel (cherry laurel)
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
cherry-laurel (cherry laurel)
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Introduction
Cherry laurel is a medium to tall evergreen ornamental shrub species in the Rose Family that is widely used in our region as a hedge species. It has escaped and naturalized in North America in British Columbia, Oregon, Washington and California (USDA 2011). In British Columbia, it is reported in the southwestern corner of the province. It is considered invasive here, and readily seeds outside of the garden. This is a spring flowering species that produces a raceme of white flowers.
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Species Information
General:
Medium to tall shrub, occasionally a small tree, 2-6 m tall; twigs green, smooth.
Leaves:
Alternate, evergreen, thick and waxy, oblong, 7-20 cm long, remotely fine-toothed, usually abruptly short-pointed at the tip, short-stalked.
Flowers:
Inflorescence an ascending cylindric cluster of several to many stalked flowers; corollas white, saucer-shaped, about 1 cm across, the petals 5, egg-shaped, 3-4 mm long; calyces 5-lobed, the lobes very short, 3-toothed; ovaries superior.
Fruits:
Fleshy drupes with a large stone (cherries), conic, about 10-15 mm long, purplish-black; seeds 1.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Prunus laurocerasus
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
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|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
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| Slope
Gradient (%) |
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|
Aspect (degrees) |
0 | ||
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
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| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
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| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
1 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CDF(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
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Habitat and Range
Mesic to moist open forests, forest edges, clearings and disturbed sites in the lowland zone; rare in SW BC; introduced from Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Cerasus laurocerasus (L.) Loisel.
Laurocerasus officinalis M. Roem.