Herbal Database Search Results

Prunus laurocerasus

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 6m by 10m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in leaf all year, in flower from April to June, and the seeds ripen in September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivar 'Camelliifolia': Hedge, Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, Ground Cover.
Cultivar 'Otto Luyken': Hedge, Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked. Sweet and reasonably pleasant when fully ripe[65, 74, K]. The cultivar 'Camelliifolia' bears huge quantities of fruit[K]. This is the size of a large cherry and, when fully ripe, has a reasonable flavour raw with a jelly-like texture and a slight astringency[K]. Some sources suggest the fruit is poisonous, this probably refers to the unripe fruit[7]. We have eaten this fruit in quite large quantities without the slightest ill effects (this also includes a 2 year old child) and so any toxicity is of a very low order[K]. However, any fruit that is bitter should not be eaten in quantity because the bitterness is caused by the presence of the toxic compounds - see the notes above on toxicity. The fruit is about 8mm in diameter and contains one large seed[200].
Water distilled from the leaves is used as an almond flavouring[2, 46, 61, 183]. It should only be uses in small quantities, it is poisonous in large amounts[183].
Seed - raw or cooked. Do not eat the seed if it is too bitter - see the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal Uses

Antispasmodic Narcotic Ophthalmic Sedative.

The fresh leaves are antispasmodic, narcotic and sedative[4, 7]. They are of value in the treatment of coughs, whooping cough, asthma, dyspepsia and indigestion[4, 238]. Externally, a cold infusion of the leaves is used as a wash for eye infections[238]. There are different opinions as to the best time to harvest the leaves, but they should only be used fresh because the active principles are destroyed if the leaves are dried[4].
Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, all members of the genus contain amygdalin and prunasin, substances which break down in water to form hydrocyanic acid (cyanide or prussic acid). In small amounts this exceedingly poisonous compound stimulates respiration, improves digestion and gives a sense of well-being[238].

Other Uses

Very tolerant of trimming, this plant makes an excellent hedge especially in shady areas[11, 29, 200].
Some forms of this plant, notably 'Cherry Brandy', 'Otto Luyken', 'Zabelina' and 'Schipkaensis' are low-growing and make very good ground cover plants for sun or shade[182, 197].
Water distilled from the leaves is used in perfumery[4]. The bruised leaves, when rubbed within any container, will remove strong odours such as garlic or cloves so long as any grease has first been fully cleaned off[4].
A green dye can be obtained from the leaves[168].
A dark grey to green dye can be obtained from the fruit[168].
Wood - pinkish grey. Used in turnery and lathe work[74].

Cultivation details

Propagation

Scent

Flowers: Fresh

The flowers are powerfully fragrant[245] but have a rather offensive odour[182]. This is a matter of opinion, some people find the smell sweet and delightful[K].

Cultivars

'Zabelina'

A low growing very hardy form that can succeed in areas with winters as cold as those of northern Germany[11]. The leaves that are almost willow-like[11]. It seldom grows more than 90cm tall but will usually eventually become 3.5 metres or more wide[11]. Very free-flowering, it is very useful for ground cover in sunny or shady positions[11, 182, 197]. It retains its low habit even when growing in shade[11].

'Schipkaensis'

A very hardy low growing form to about 2 metres in height[11, 200], it can succeed outdoors in colder climates than other forms of the species, tolerating the cold winters of continental northern Germany and parts of North America[11]. It can be used for ground cover in sunny or shady positions[182, 197].

'Otto Luyken'

This is a low growing narrow-leaved form that flowers freely in the spring and again in the autumn. It grows about 1.2 metres tall[11] and makes a very good ground cover for sun or shade[182, 197].

'Camelliifolia'

A large shrub, growing more than 4 metres tall and wide[K]. The fruit is the size of a large cherry, it is borne abundantly and has a pleasant flavour when fully ripe with a jelly-like texture, though there is a slight astringency[K].

'Cherry Brandy'

A low growing form, it can be used for ground cover in sunny or shady positions[182, 197].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

• Ground cover plants.
  
• PFAF: Edible Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Britain
  
• PFAF: Edible Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Britain: P
  
• Checklist of plants suitable for hedging and windbreaks.
  
• Checklist of plants suitable for hedging and windbreaks: P
  
• Checklist of plants suitable for ground cover
  
• Checklist of plants suitable for ground cover: P
  
• Checklist of plants suitable for hedging and windbreaks.
  
• Checklist of plants suitable for ground cover
  
• PFAF: Edible Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Britain
  

Web References

• Latin and Worldwide Common Names From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M.  H.  Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000 Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
• Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M.  Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
• [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
• [E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
• [B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
• [G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
• [G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
• [PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
• [P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
• [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

• [S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[29] Shepherd. F.W. Hedges and Screens. Royal Horticultural Society. 1974 ISBN 0900629649
A small but informative booklet giving details of all the hedging plants being grown in the R.H.S. gardens at Wisley in Surrey.

[30] Carter D. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. Pan 1982 ISBN 0-330-26642-x
An excellent book on Lepidoptera, it also lists their favourite food plants.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[88] RHS. The Garden. Volume 112. Royal Horticultural Society 1987
Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS. In particular, there are articles on plants that are resistant to honey fungus, oriental vegetables, Cimicifuga spp, Passiflora species and Cucurbits.

[98] Gordon. A. G. and Rowe. D. C. f. Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs.
Very comprehensive guide to growing trees and shrubs from seed. Not for the casual reader.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[124] RHS. The Garden. Volume 113. Royal Horticultural Society 1988
Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS, including details on Podophyllum, Canna and Protea species.

[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[197] Royal Horticultural Society. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells. 1989 ISBN 0-304-31089-1
A handy little booklet from the R.H.S.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

Plant Passporting

Rich (michael@thewitchshaven.com) Wed Sep 26 16:58:15 2001

This information has been taken from DEFRA Guide to Plant Passporting. Which places restrictions on plants which can be traded in the UK and the EU mainly because they are carriers for pests and diseases.

Beta vulgaris (Beet), Chaenomeles (Ornamental quince, Japonica), Citrus (Orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, etc.), Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster), Crataegus (Hawthorn), Cydonia (Quince), Eriobotrya (Includes loquat), Fortunella and hybrids (Kumquat), Humulus lupulus (Hop (including ornamentals)), Malus (Apple (including ornamentals)), Mespilus (Medlar), Poncirus and hybrids (Ornamental citrus), Prunus (other than Prunus laurocerasus and Prunus lusitanica) (Includes almond, apricot, cherry, damson, greengage, nectarine, peach, plum, sloe and ornamental/flowering varieties), Pyracantha (Firethorn), Pyrus (Pear (including ornamentals)), Solanum (stolon or tuber forming types) (Potato), Sorbus (other than Sorbus intermedia) (Includes rowan and whitebeam), Stranvaesia (Stranvaesia), Vitis (Grape, includes grape vine and ornamental grape).

Many other plants require pasporting for commercial growers, these include Abies, Allium ascalonicum, Allium cepa, Allium porrum, Allium schoenoprasum, Apium graveolens, Plants of the family Araceae, Argyranthemum, Aster, Brassica, Castanea, Capsicum annuum, Cucumis, Dendranthema, Dianthus and hybrids, Euphorbia, Exacum, Fragaria, Gerbera, Gypsophila, Helianthus annuus, Impatiens (all varieties of New Guinea hybrids), Lactuca, Larix, Leucanthemum, Lupinus, Lycopersicon lycopersicum, Plants of the family Marantaceae, Medicago sativa, Plants of the family Musaceae, Nicotiana, Pelargonium, Persea, Phaseolus, Picea, Pinus, Platanus, Populus, Prunus laurocerasus and Prunus lusitanica, Pseudotsuga, Quercus, Rubus, Plants of the family Solanaceae (other than plants of stolon or tuber forming species of Solanum and their hybrids), Solanum melongena, Spinacia, Plants of the family Strelitziaceae, Tanacetum, Tsuga, Verbena.

Cross references: Plants: Beta vulgaris, Humulus lupulus. Genera: Chaenomeles, Citrus, Cotoneaster, Crataegus, Cydonia, Eriobotrya, Fortunella, Malus, Mespilus, Poncirus, Prunus, Pyracantha, Pyrus, Solanum, Sorbus, Stranvaesia, Vitis.

Prunus laurocerasus

Una McDermott (umcdermott@kildalton.teagasc.ie) Sat Mar 9 12:25:10 2002

My understanding is that even small amounts of the plant can cause poisoning. The leaves containcyanogenic glycocides. These glycosides yield hydrocyanic acid (cyanide)when enzymes in crushed plant material or the digestive system act on them. Cyanide smells of almonds. Distilling material from the leaves may concentrate the levels of cyanide to a toxic level.

Cross references: Web-pages: Ground cover plants..

Prunus laurocerasus

Ken Fern (ken.fern@lineone.net) Sat Mar 9 12:27:53 2002

Dear Una McDermott

Many thanks for your email regarding Prunus laurocerasus and the conflicting reports of edibility and poisonousness.

Prunus laurocerasus is in the rose family of plants. This family includes many well-known edible fruits including the apple, pear, plum, strawberry, cherry, apricot, peach, blackberry and raspberry. A very high proportion of plants in the rose family also contain cyanogenic glycosides. This is found, in small quantities, in the leaves and seeds, but also in the fruits and can be detected by the characteristic bitter flavour reminiscent of almonds. Indeed, it is these glycosides that give almonds (also a member of the rose family) their characteristic flavour. Whilst the sweet almonds that are so commonly used as an article of food have only a low concentration of these glycosides, the bitter almonds that are used commercially to make marzipan and other food flavourings contain a much higher content (indeed there are records of three of these bitter almond seeds causing death in a young child). Even the sweet almonds are not totally safe to eat - it has been stimulated that about 900 seeds would constitute a lethal dose for an average healthy adult.

These glycosides are not all bad, however. Indeed, they are used both by conventional medicine and by herbalists as a stimulant for the respiratory system. In conventional medicine, the compound is used in isolation, but herbally many plants rich in these glycosides are used, including the bitter almond and Prunus laurocerasus (the leaves and seeds rather than the fruits).

The fruits of Prunus laurocerasus are usually quite low in glycoside content and are thus completely safe to eat in all but very large quantities. I have eaten quite large quantities on a number of occasions and have also given them to my young children who love them. However, I always make sure the fruit is fully ripe (it acquires a jelly-like consistency) and that it has a sweet rather than bitter flavour. Eaten like this they are completely safe - I first gave them to my son when he was about 2½ years old and he is now a very healthy 7½ year old.

The leaflet on ground cover plants that you read was written about 10 years ago and has not been revised since then. I do feel that the explanation on edibility should be expanded and will make sure that this is done in the near future. The entry for the plant in our database is more clear - I include excerpts from it below:-

The entry for known toxins reads as follows - "All parts of the plant contain hydrogen cyanide, a poison that gives almonds their characteristic flavour. This toxin is found mainly in the leaves and seed and is readily detected by its bitter taste. It is usually present in too small a quantity to do any harm but any very bitter seed or fruit should not be eaten. In small quantities, hydrogen cyanide has been shown to stimulate respiration and improve digestion, it is also claimed to be of benefit in the treatment of cancer. In excess, however, it can cause respiratory failure and even death."

The entry for edibility reads as follows -

"Fruit - raw or cooked. Sweet and reasonably pleasant when fully ripe[65, 74, K]. The cultivar 'Camelliifolia' bears huge quantities of fruit[K]. This is the size of a large cherry and, when fully ripe, has a reasonable flavour raw with a jelly-like texture and a slight astringency[K]. Some sources suggest the fruit is poisonous, this probably refers to the unripe fruit[7]. We have eaten this fruit in quite large quantities without the slightest ill effects (this also includes a 2 year old child) and so any toxicity is of a very low order[K]. However, any fruit that is bitter should not be eaten in quantity because the bitterness is caused by the presence of the toxic compounds - see the notes above on toxicity. The fruit is about 8mm in diameter and contains one large seed[200]. Water distilled from the leaves is used as an almond flavouring[2, 46, 61, 183]. It should only be uses in small quantities, it is poisonous in large amounts[183]. Seed - raw or cooked. Do not eat the seed if it is too bitter - see the notes above on toxicity."

I hope this is of us to you. Please do not hesitate to get back in touch with me if you have further questions.

Ken Fern

Cross references: Web-pages: Ground cover plants..

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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