This evergreen shrub has remarkably similar features to the bay tree (Lauris nobilis).
It’s a dense and bushy shrub that develops a spreading almost tree-like habit when mature. The leaves are dark green and glossy with a stiff texture.
Small, white, scented flowers are borne on vertical spikes in spring and are followed by red, cherry-like fruits that ripen to black. This is a very hardy shrub that works well as a hedge or screen.
Prunus laurocerasus can be distinguished from other cherries and cherry laurels (e.g. P. lusitanica) by being evergreen, having flowers on long spikes rather than small clusters, and its leaves having few, short and distantly spaced teeth only towards the tip.
Warning ⚠️ can be problematic :
If planted and forgotten, it can create dense, long-lived thickets. It seeds freely and is poisonous too. Seed is bird-dispersed. Vegetative spread is by suckering from the root system. Can form dense stands in open and disturbed habitats preventing the regeneration of native species.