Prunus lusitanica
Common name: 
Portuguese Cherry Laurel .
Portuguese Laurel
Pronunciation: 
PROO-nus lu-si-TAN-i-ka
Family: 
Rosaceae
Genus: 
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Evergreen broadleaf shrub, 10-20 ft (3-6 m), or 50 ft (15 m) tree, dense branching, young branches reddish.  Leaves alternate, simple, 12 cm long × 5 cm wide, glossy dark green, toothed, margin often undulating; petiole 1.5-2.5 cm long, frequently reddish.  Flowers white, fragrant 8-12 mm diam., in showy 15-25 cm clusters (racemes).  Ripe fruit dark purple-black, 8 mm long, ovoid.
  • Sun to part shade.  Accepts heat, sun and wind better than P. laurocerasus, needs little water once established  Makes a dense hedge.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 6 (Hardier than P. laurocerasus).         Native of Spain and Portugal
  • lusitanica: of Portugal (Lusitania was an ancient Iberian Roman province which included the area of modern Portugal and a portion of western Spain.)
  • Corvallis: grown as "street trees" on east side of 29th St. north of Harrison Ave.
  • Oregon State Univ. campus: on the north side of Jefferson Ave. east of 15th St., near the east entrance to the parking lot
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  • plant habit

    plant habit

  • plant habit, hedge

    plant habit, hedge

  • plant habit, sheared

    plant habit, sheared

  • street trees, Corvallis, Oregon

    street trees, Corvallis, Oregon

  • leaves

    leaves

  • shoot, comparison

    shoot, comparison

  • leaves, comparison

    leaves, comparison

  • plant habit, flowering

    plant habit, flowering

  • flower clusters and leaves

    flower clusters and leaves

  • maturing fruit and leaves

    maturing fruit and leaves

  • ripe fruit

    ripe fruit