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Prunus caroliniana

(P. Mill.) Ait.

Carolina Laurel Cherry

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.147889
Element CodePDROS1C080
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderRosales
FamilyRosaceae
GenusPrunus
Other Common Names
Carolina laurelcherry (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-12-09
Change Date1988-08-04
Edition Date2025-12-09
Edition AuthorsSoteropoulos (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Prunus caroliniana is a wide-ranging shrub or tree found in a variety of habitats, including maritime forests, stream bottoms, and sandy hammocks in the Coastal Plain, and naturalizing in more inland areas. It is endemic to the southeastern United States from southeastern North Carolina south to south-central peninsular Florida, west to Arkansas and Texas; it is probably native to the southeastern barrier islands and Coastal Plain, with mainly inland occurrences representing naturalization from horticultural use. There are over 1,000 occurrences. Little is known about threats or trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Prunus caroliniana is endemic to the southeastern United States from southeastern North Carolina south to south-central peninsular Florida and west to Arkansas and Texas. It is probably native to the southeastern barrier islands and Coastal Plain, with mainly inland occurrences representing naturalization from horticultural use (FNA 2014, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025). It also escapes from cultivation in California on occasion (FNA 2014). Range extent was estimated to be approximately 1.6 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1994 and 2025, it is estimated that there are over 4,000 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, RARECAT 2025, SEINet 2025). This species is commonly cultivated (FNA 2014), and observations were not evaluated for evidence of cultivation, though observations outside the native range were excluded (Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, this species is potentially threatened by development, invasive species, and other threats in some places. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range and large number of occurrences.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Prunus caroliniana grows in maritime forests, stream bottoms, and sandy hammocks in the Coastal Plain, and naturalizing in more inland areas as it is escaping from cultivation to fencerows, wooded uplands, and suburban forests and thickets (FNA 2014, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025).

Reproduction

This species flowers from February to April and fruits from May to November (FNA 2014, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2025). Birds consume and disperse the fruits (Wildflower Center 2025).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest - HardwoodForest - MixedWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - MixedShrubland/chaparralCropland/hedgerowSuburban/orchard
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
FloridaS5Yes
ArkansasSNANo
MississippiSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
GeorgiaSNRYes
South CarolinaS5Yes
VirginiaSNANo
TexasSNRYes
North CarolinaS3Yes
TennesseeSNANo
CaliforniaSNANo
AlabamaSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined———

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL, EVERGREEN
Economic Value (Genus)Yes
Roadless Areas (1)
Texas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Winters BayouNational Forests in Texas730
References (9)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2014b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 9. Magnoliophyta: Picramniaceae to Rosaceae. Oxford University Press, New York. xxiv + 713 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  3. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  4. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  5. Little, E.L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agriculture Handbook No. 541. U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C. 375 pp.
  6. <p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
  7. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).
  8. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2025. Flora of the southeastern United States Web App. Edition of February 18, 2025. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Online. Available: https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu (accessed 2025).
  9. Wildflower Center. 2025. Native Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Austin Texas. Online. Available: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/ (accessed 2025).