Latin name: Prunus laurocerasus
The cherry laurel is a bushy, evergreen shrub. It grows to two or three meters high. Wildlife can hide from other animals under the cherry laurel!
The cherry laurel is a relation of plum, apricot and cherry trees. However, be very careful around this shrub. It is very poisonous. Humans cannot eat the small cherry-like fruit.
The leaves are dark green and glossy. Sometimes the edges can be a little jagged near the tip of the leaves.
The flower buds begin to grow in early spring. They open out in full flower by early summer. Bees, hoverflies, Peacock and Tortoishell Butterflies love these flowers.
Peacock Butterfly
Copyright Mike Brown
Peacock Butterfly
Copyright Mike Brown
Copyright Mike Brown
Peacock Butterfly
Copyright Mike Brown
Have you ever seen a cherry laurel? It’s really very easy to recognise!
Lots of tiny, cream-coloured flowers grow on the shrub. They grow together in long, cone-shaped bunch. They have a sweet smell. The cherry laurel is one of the nicest shrubs in the countryside.
Look closely at the cherry laurel in the summer. You will see the small red cherry-like fruit between the leaves. The fruit turns dark purple when it is ripe. This happens in the early autumn.
This plant is very poisonous. It is one of the very few shrubs that deer do not eat.
Remember not to eat the berries!