How do you recognise Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)?

Leaf

Franz Xaver, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

Cherry laurel

Prunus laurocerasus L.

Also known as: Common laurel

Family: Rosaceae

2 to 5 m tall, often clipped lower as a hedge

Evergreen hedges, gardens, all soils even limestone

Flowering: April – May

Full sun

Part shade

Shade

Hardy to -20°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

All parts of the plant, except the flesh of the ripe fruit, contain hydrogen cyanide and are toxic. Bay laurel has aromatic leaves used in cooking, without a bitter-almond smell, whereas cherry laurel leaves give off this characteristic (and toxic) smell when crushed — they are not related plants despite sharing a common name.

🍃 Leaves

Evergreen, broad, ovate, leathery, very glossy dark green

🌸 Flowers

Small upright spikes of fragrant white flowers

🍎 Fruits

Small black drupes in clusters, toxic

🪵 Bark

Smooth grey-brown twigs

🗺️ Distribution

Balkans, Asia Minor; very widely planted as a hedge in France, sometimes naturalised and invasive.

🐝 Value for pollinators

White flowering in upright clusters in spring, nectar-rich and visited by bees.

✂️ Horticultural uses

Very widely used as a clipped evergreen hedge, despite its invasive character in some natural habitats.

⚠️ Possible toxicity

All parts, especially the leaves and stones, very toxic (hydrogen cyanide); serious risk if ingested.

⚠️ Look-alike species

Cherry laurel

Prunus laurocerasus

Bay laurel

Laurus nobilis

Bay laurel has aromatic leaves used in cooking, without a bitter-almond smell, whereas cherry laurel leaves give off this characteristic (and toxic) smell when crushed — they are not related plants despite sharing a common name.

🌿 Other Rosaceae to discover

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.