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The Portuguese laurel cherry (Prunus lusitanica) originally comes from Portugal, as the name suggests. The shrub or tree, which is up to six meters high, can also be found in other Mediterranean regions such as the Canary Islands, Spain, southern France or Morocco. In our latitudes, however, the quite frost-hardy shrub is rarely found, and for good reason.
In contrast to the real laurel tree, the Portuguese laurel cherry is highly toxic
Leaves and fruits contain hydrocyanic acid compounds
As with other cherry laurel plants, both the leaves and the seeds of the Portuguese laurel contain a cyanogenic glycoside with the substance prunasin. Prunasin contains highly toxic hydrocyanic acid which, when combined with water and certain enzymes, is released in the digestive tract and can have deadly effects. Although the flesh of the dark red berries that ripen in September is non-toxic, the seeds they contain are all the more dangerous.
tips
The German Nature Conservation Union (NABU) warns against planting cherry laurel in domestic gardens. The plant is even referred to as an "ecological plague" because it cannot serve as a food source for either birds or insects - the animals usually do not know what to do with the neophyte - and also spreads very quickly and displaces native species.