Carolina Laurel Cherry
(Prunus caroliniana)

Host Plant: Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon), Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus), Herni’s Elfin (Callophrys henrici), and the Luna moth (Actias luna)

Nectar Plant: many insects including other butterflies, bees, and wasps.

Food Source: Birds and mammals

Flower Color: white

Growth Habit: large shrub to small tree growing from 15 to 35 feet

Range in North America: Southeastern and Southern United States and California

Exposure: Prefers full sun to part shade

Hardiness: Zones 7-10

Flowering Time: February to April

Soil Requirements: well-drained soil that is medium in soil moisture

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Categories: Plants, Prunus | Cherries, Plums, and Almonds, Rosaceae | Rose Family Tags: Nectar Plants, Perennial, Rosaceae, Swallowtails

Carolina Laurel Cherry (Prunus caroliniana)

Alternative Names

Carolina Cherry-Laurel, mock orange, wild orange, and American Plum

Description of Carolina Laurel Cherry (Prunus caroliniana)

Carolina Laurel Cherry (Prunus caroliniana), a member of the Rosaceae (Rose Family), is a shrub to small tree that grows from 15′ to 35′ tall and blooms with white flowers in the winter to early spring (February to April). The fruits, which are black drupes, mature in the spring to fall (May to November). More information can be found on this blog post about Carolina Laurel-Cherry.

Hosted Species

Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon)

Pale Swallowtail on a red flower — Pale Swallowtail on Red Flower — ALAN SCHMIERER, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Eastern tiger swallowtail on flower. — Eastern Tiger Swallowtail — Shenandoah National Park from Virginia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus)

Henri’s Elfin (Callophrys henrici)

Henry's elfin (Incisalia henrici) on the ground. — *Callophrys henrici* (Grote & Robinson, 1867)
observed in Canada
by Ian Whyte (licensed under http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)

Nectar Species

This species is used by other insects and is food for birds and mammals.

Habitat

This species grows in open areas such as thickets, wooded areas, maritime forests, martime woodlands, and floodplains.

Range of Carolina Laurel-Cherry (Prunus caroliniana) in the United States and Canada

Interesting Facts

The genus name, Prunus, is Latin for “drupe.” The species name, caroliniana, comes from Latin for “of Carolina.”

location	California
usda-plant-hardiness	Zone 10, Zone 9
exposure_requirements	Full Sun, Part Shade/Part Sun
plant_habit	Shrub, Tree
soil_requirements	Dry, Medium, Moist
hosted-species	Lorquin's Admiral (Limenitis lorquini), Papilio eurymedon (Pale Swallowtail), Papilio rutulus (Western Tiger Swallowtail), Satyrium californica (California Hairstreak)

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