Table of Contents for Carolina Laurel Cherry (Prunus caroliniana)
Carolina Laurel Cherry (Prunus caroliniana) is a large shrub to small tree that is native to the mid-west and eastern United States. This plant is a host to four butterflies and many moths, including the Luna Moth and is an important nectar source for other insects. Growing from 15 to 35 feet tall, this species grows in thickets, fields, wooded areas, floodplains, and maritime forests. The white flowers bloom from February to April and the plant is hardy in zones 7-10.
Taxonomy and Naming of Carolina Laurel Cherry (Prunus caroliniana)
Taxonomy
Carolina Laurel Cherry (Prunus caroliniana) was named and described by Philip Miller, an English botanist, in 1768 as Padus caroliniana. Later in 1789, it was renamed to its current name, Prunus caroliniana. It still has the same name and is a member of the Rose Family (Rosaceae).
Meaning of the Scientific and Common Names
Scientific Name
The genus name, Prunus, is Latin for “plum tree.” The species name, caroliniana, comes from the Latin meaning “of carolina.”
Common Name and Alternative Names
The common name comes from the native location of the species. Some other common names are Carolina Cherry-Laurel (NC Extension Gardener), mock orange (Arnold Arboretum 1921), wild orange (Bailey Hortorium Staff 1976), and American Plum (Zomlefer, et al 2007).
Physical Description
- Plant Type: This plant is a shrub to small tree.
- Height: 15 to 35 feet tall
- Stem: Trees that do not produce suckers.
- Leaves: The evergreen leaves are alternate, petiolate, oblong to elliptic in shape, have entire to obscurely serrate margins, and are 2 to 4 inches in length and 0.6 to 3 inches in width.
- Flower color: white
- Blooming period: This plant blooms from February to April.
- Fruiting type and period: This plant has black drupes that mature from May to November.
Range of Carolina Laurel Cherry in the United States and Canada
This species is native to the mid-west and eastern United States. It is adventive in California.
Habitat
This species grows in thickets, wooded areas, maritime forests (Singhurst, et al 2014), maritime woodlands (Stalter, et al 2014), and floodplains (Lelong 1977).
Hosted Insects
The Prunus genus is general is a host to four butterflies including the henry’s elfin (Callophrys henrici), Coral hairstreak (Satyrium titus), the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), and the Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) (Gaden, et al 2023). This genus also hosts many moths and one of the notable ones is the Luna Moth (Actias luna). It also hosts the maple tip borer moth (Episimus tyrius) (Brown, et al 1984).
Other Supported Wildlife
This species is an important nectar source to other butterflies, skippers, bees, and wasps. Birds and small mammals enjoy the fruits in the summer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this plant have any ethnobotanical uses?
The Native American Ethobotanical Database does not list this species specifically, but other cherries have been used as foods and pharmaceuticals.
How is this plant distinguished from other Cherries (Prunus spp.)?
This species is similar to the West Indian Cherry (Prunus myrtifolia), but differs in that the leaves are generally twice as long as wide versus less than twice as long as wide in West Indian Cherry (Weakley, et al 2022).
Is this plant invasive?
This plant has not been noted as being invasive in the literature.
Is this plant poisonous?
This plant is listed as being poisonous by the NC Extension Gardener.
Gardening with Carolina Laurel Cherry
Hardiness
This species is hardy in zones 7-10. If your garden is within these zones and you have the right growing conditions (soil, moisture and exposure), you may well be able to grow this plant. However, if planted outside of its range, the hosted species may not recognize the plant or be harmed by ingesting a different species with an unfamiliar chemical composition. This species was likely first cultivated in 1725 (Favretti and DeWolf 1971) and has a number of cultivars including:
- ‘Crisfield Dwarf’ (Hebb 1973): a dwarf version of the species that 1/3 the usual height and has longer leaves.
- ‘Compacta’ (Wikipedia): a dwarf cultivar
- ‘Cherry Ruffles’: cultivar with wavy/ruffled leaf margins (Wikipedia).
Optimal Conditions
This species grows in full sun to part shade and prefers medium well-drained soil.
References
- Arnold Arboretum. 1921. Philadelphus. Bulletin of Popular Information 8(10): 37-38.
- Bailey, Hortorium Staff. 1976. Hortus Third, A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. (New York: MacMillan Publishing Company).
- Brown, Richard L., J.F. Gates Clark, and Dale H. Halbeck. 1984. New host records for Olethreutinae (Torticidae). Journal of the Lepidopterists Society 37: 224-227.
- Favretii, Rudy J. and Gordon P. DeWolf, Jr. 1971. Colonial Garden Plants 31(4): 172-249.
- Hebb, Robert S. 1973. Plant Registrations 33(3): 199-209.
- Lelong, Michel G. 1977. Annotated List of Vascular Plants in Mobile, Alabama. Sida 7: 118-146.
- Singhurst, Jason R., Amos Cooper, David J. Rosen, and Walter C. Holmes. 2014. The Vascular Flora and Plant Communities of Candy Abshier Wildlife Management Area, Chambers County, Texas, USA. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of the Texas 8(2): 665-675.
- Stalter, Richard, Brent A. Berger, Eric E. Lamont, and John Nelson. 2014. The Vascular Flora of Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, USA. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 8(1): 319-331.
- Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2022. Flora of the southeastern United States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden.
- Zomlefer, Wendy B., David E. Giannasi, and Walter S. Judd. 2007. A Floristic Survey of National Park Service Areas of Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve (including Fort Caroline National Memorial), Duval County, Florida. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 1:1157-1178.
