Prunus laurocerasus, with common names Cherry laurel and sometimes called English laurel in North America, is a species in the genus Prunus, native to regions bordering the Black Sea in southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe, from Albania and Bulgaria east through Turkey to the Caucasus Mountains and northern Iran. The common name "cherry laurel" refers to the similarity of foliage and appearance to the true laurel, Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) (family Lauraceae). However, the two plants are in different families and are unrelated.