FAMILY: ROSACEAE
ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: Carolina laurelcherry
LEAVES: simple, alternate, persistent; blades elliptic, ca. 3” long; margins often have spiny teeth, but teeth may be lacking; leaves aromatic when crushed, smell similar to Dr. Pepper
FLOWER: perfect, in axillary racemes to ca. 1.5” long; petal 5, stamens 10-15, flowers ca. 0.3” across; flowering in early spring
FRUIT: dark blue-black drupe, ca. 0.5” in diameter; drupes from the previous year often persist into the next
TWIGS: slender, red to grayish-brown, with scattered horizontally elongate lenticels
BARK: smooth and dark gray to greenish
FORM: evergreen shrub or small tree to 40’ x 1.5’ dbh
HABITAT: mesic, well-drained forests, such as mesic flatwoods, hardwood slope forest, southern mesophytic forest, salt dome hardwood forest; this species is cultivated and is prone to escape, many populations may have been established in that way
WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Upland (FACU): Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
RANGE: Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains [USGS Range Map] [MAP]
USES: often-used ornamental, privacy hedges
WILDLIFE: commonly browsed by deer and provides forage during winter; fruits eaten by birds
Best Recognition Features:
- lustrous green leaves, often with spiny teeth
- Dr. Pepper-like odor of crushed leaves
- persistent dark blue-black drupes
NOTE – wilted foliage contains hydrocyanic acid, toxic to cattle and most other mammals; do not consume any leaves, wilted or fresh!
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