Lauraceae

• Cinnamomum camphora
• Cinnamomum zeylanicum
• Laurus nobilis
• Persea americana
• Umbellularia californica

• Query IPNI
• Common Name: Camphor Tree
• Family: Lauraceae Juss.

• Country of Origin: Taiwan, China, Japan
• Habitat: Banks of streams in China

• Description: [syn. Camphora officinalis Nees ex Steud.; Laurus Camphora L.]

  Handsome tree, to 100 feet, branches yellow-brown, buds enclosed by large imbricate scales; leaves alternate, ovate-elliptic, to 5 inches long, acuminate, whitish beneath, shed in early spring and immediately replaced by new leaves; panicles shorter than leaves; flowers yellow; fruit globose, black.
  Thrives in southern California and in southermost US states; useful as a specimen tree for parks or for row plantings along streets. The wood is much used in cabinetwork in the orient; twigs, leaves and wood distilled to produce camphor.
  This plant is listed as a Category 1 plant by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council as it is quite invasive and disruptive of native plant communities. An eradication effort is underway in many areas of Florida.