This week, we’re talking about a much maligned hero of the fruit tree world; cherry laurel, or Prunus laurocerasus. Despite popular myth, it has edible fruit (when ripe) and many other medicinal properties. Very hardy and evergreen to boot, this is very much the sleeper hit of the Prunus world. A great candidate for domestication, especially considering how easily obtainable they are: An Unsung Prunus - by A. Potentilla - Urban Food Forest
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I’ve actually Foraged this fruit and they are indeed edible. They taste like a Cherry x Olive though they have to be fully ripe to be any good. I harvested a whole bunch of them, eventually thew most of them out cuz I didn’t like the taste that much compared to Peaches. (They will probably germinate in the forrest next year) Heck even Prunus serotina the Bird Cherry taste better sometimes.
I think it has potential as it yields ridiculously in full sun, Sneaks well into an HOA, Makes a Great Hedge, Flowers have nice soft smell, all while being easy to grow and prune.
BUT… It desperately needs breeding work to improve taste! Size is okay for wild fruits but as evident by how little I ate, needs improvement for sure. Why not breed them with Prunus serotina or Prunus virginiana? Should be theoretically possible as they are both in the Padus (Bird Cherry) Subgenus? (Tho in different sections, Rosaceae Family is that crazy plant family where Pome fruit for example laugh at phylogenics trees since Pyrus, Malus, Aronia, Sorbus, Amelanchier can all hybridize across genera. I’m sure Cherries would behave similarly.)
Also those in the picture are not ripe at all, they gotta be fully back to be remotely enjoyable.
These I took pictures of below are fully ripe
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Yes, thanks. I wish I could try some from the orchards in Turkey. Agreed in the point about more breeding work, but the bar is so low you nearly anyone can likely make a name for themselves with little effort. There’s really so much undiscovered depths in so many genera.
RE the picture, yes, I know it’s unripe, I just thought they were so pretty hanging there like grapes. And you know, it can always be mixed with other fruit to dilute down the taste if it’s not good on its own.
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Absolutely agree, so many Good Wild Edibles have not been fully domesticated. As for Prunus laurocerasus, Turkey is definitely the place to get some good Genetics. However, I also think It needs to be bred with other Prunus subgenera desperately! All the other Bird Cherries are also soso, although I heard Prunus virginiana had very good tasting fruits after frost.
So far, based on how I understand Phylogenic Trees, Prunus lauroceras is in the subgenus padus (BirchCherry Group).
The 3 Main Subgenera for Prunus are (Prunus and Cerasus can Hybridize, however Padus forms it’s own group that can’t as of current knowledge)
- Prunus Subgenus (Plums, Peaches, Sandcherries, etc)
This splits into 3 sections
- Prunus (Plum) Section
- Amygdalus (Peach & Almond) Section
- Lithocerasus (Sand Cherry) Sectio
-
Cerasus Subgenus (Cherries)
Mostly just has one Section that fit under the cherry umbrella. This entire Subgenus can hybridize with Plums or Peaches.
What’s also interesting is that there is a BirdCherry (Prunus padus) that can Hybridize with this section because it’s more genetically related to subgenus ceracus than to Subgenus padus. -
Padus Subgenus (Birdcherries, LaurelCherries)
This splits into just 2 sections
- Padus (BirchCherry) Section
- Laurocerasus (Laurel Cherry) Section
Just note, Prunus is part of Rosaceae Family, the family notorius for Cross Genera Hybrdization.
This is the Same Family where Malus (Apple), Amelanchier (Saskatoon), Pyrus (Pear), Sorbus (Mountain Ash), Aronia (Chokeberry), can all hybridize because they are all pome fruits.
Not to Mention, some guy Managed to Hybridize Fragria (Strawberry) with Rubus (Raspberry). I wouldn’t be surprised if Potentilla (Mock Strawberry) could be crossed with Fragrai (True Strawberry), since they are more closely related to each other than Raspberry is to Strawberry.
I wouldn’t be too surprised if Prunus laurocerasus was able to hybridize with Peaches as well.
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Indeed, this has been done a few times
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1601-5223.1971.tb02372.x
Basically, it’s almost criminal how much work there is to be done. Everywhere that I turn there’s something that can eaten (with effort), or made to be edible somehow.
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Fascinating! Thank you for the Valuable Information
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