Flora of North America species comparison

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Umbellularia californica

Lauraceae

California bay, California-laurel, myrtle-wood, Oregon-myrtle, pepperwood

laurel family
Habit Trees or shrubs, to 45 m; twigs terete, glabrous or sparsely appressed-pubescent, rarely minutely tomentose. Shrubs to tall trees, evergreen or rarely deciduous (Cassytha a parasitic vine with leaves reduced to scales), usually aromatic.
Leaves

blade deep yellow-green, shiny, narrowly oblong or narrowly elliptic, 3-10 × 1.5-3 cm, base acute or obtuse, apex acute;

surfaces abaxially glabrous, sparsely appressed-pubescent or minutely tomentose, adaxially glabrous;

domatia absent.

blade: unlobed (unlobed or lobed in Sassafras), margins entire, occasionally with domatia (crevices or hollows serving as lodging for mites) in axils of main lateral veins (in Cinnamomum).
Inflorescences

pubescent.

in axils of leaves or deciduous bracts, panicles (rarely heads), racemes, compound cymes, or pseudoumbels (spikes in Cassytha), sometimes enclosed by decussate bracts.
Flowers

5-10;

tepals 6-8 mm.

bisexual or unisexual, bisexual only, or staminate and pistillate on different plants, or staminate and bisexual on some plants, pistillate and bisexual on others;

flowers usually yellow to greenish or white, rarely reddish;

hypanthium well developed, resembling calyx tube, tepals and stamens perigynous;

tepals 6(-9), in 2(-3) whorls of 3, sepaloid, equal or rarely unequal, if unequal then usually outer 3 smaller than inner 3 (occasionally absent in Litsea);

stamens (3-)9(-12), in whorls of 3, but 1 or more whorls frequently staminodial or absent;

stamens of 3d whorl with 2 glands near base;

anthers 2- or 4-locular, locules opening by valves;

pistil 1, 1-carpellate;

ovary 1-locular;

placentation basal;

ovule 1;

stigma subsessile, discoid or capitate.
Fruits

drupes, drupe borne on pedicel with or without persistent tepals at base, or seated in ± deeply cup-shaped receptacle (cupule), or enclosed in accrescent floral tube.
Drupe

usually solitary, 2 cm or more diam. 2n =24.

Seed

1;

endosperm absent.

Umbellularia californica

Lauraceae
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; North America; w coast
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Pantropical; a few species also in subtropical and temperate regions
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2

Native Americans used Umbellularia californica for medicinal purposes and occasionally as an insecticide (D. E. Moerman 1986).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Genera ca. 50, species 2000-3000 (9 genera, 13 species in the flora).

Cassytha is sometimes placed in its own family, Cassythaceae; it is here retained in Lauraceae.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf blade abaxially glabrous or sparsely appressed-pubescent.
var. californica
1. Leaf blade abaxially minutely tomentose.
var. fresnensis

Key to Genera Based on Flowering Material

1. Parasitic vines, leaves reduced to minute scales; stems pale green to yellow-green or orange, twining.
Cassytha
1. Shrubs or trees, leafy; stem various in color but not orange, not twinning.
→ 2
2. Plants deciduous; flowers appearing before or with new leaves.
→ 3
2. Plants evergreen; flowers appearing when leaves mature.
→ 5
3. Flowers in racemes or panicles; leaf blade often lobed.
Sassafras
3. Flowers in pseudoumbels; leaf blade always unlobed.
→ 4
4. Anthers 2-locular.
Lindera
4. Anthers 4-locular.
Listea
5. Flowers in pseudoumbels.
Umbellularia
5. Flowers in panicles or compound cymes.
→ 6
6. Stamens 3, anthers 2-locular.
Licaria
6. Stamens 9, anthers 4-locular.
→ 7
7. Outer 3 tepals shorter than inner 3.
Persea
7. Tepals equal.
→ 8
8. Leaf blade pinnately veined, domatia absent; terminal bud not covered by imbricate scales.
Nectandra
8. Leaf blade with (1-)3 primary veins, pubescent domatia in axils of main lateral veins; terminal bud covered by imbricate scales, young twigs with clusters of scars from fallen scales.
Cinnamomum

Key to Genera Based on Fruiting Material

1. Parasitic vines, leaves reduced to minute scales.
Cassytha
1. Shrubs or trees, leafy.
→ 2
2. Leaf blade usually lobed (often unlobed).
Sassafras
2. Leaf blade always unlobed.
→ 3
3. Tepals persistent at base of fruit; cupule absent.
Persea
3. Tepals deciduous; small cupule present.
→ 4
4. Cupule usuallly double-rimmed.
Licaria
4. Cupule single-rimmed.
→ 5
5. Fruit at maturity 2 cm or more in greatest dimension; California, Oregon
Umbellularia
5. Fruit at maturity less than 2 cm in greatest dimension; e of Rocky Mountains.
→ 6
6. Infructescences umbellate or not branched, about 1 cm.
→ 7
6. Infructescences paniculate, more than 4 cm.
→ 8
7. Leaf blade 4 × 1.5 cm or less.
Listea
7. Leaf blade 4 × 2 cm or more.
Lindera
8. Leaf blade pinnately veined, domatia absent; terminal bud not covered by imbricate scales.
Nectandra
8. Leaf blade with (1-)3 primary veins, pubescent domatia in axils of main lateral veins; terminal bud covered by imbricate scales, young twigs with clusters of scars from fallen scales.
Cinnamomum
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3, p. 26. Author: Henk van der Werff.
Parent taxa Lauraceae > Umbellularia
Subordinate taxa
U. californica var. californica, U. californica var. fresnensis
Cassytha, Cinnamomum, Licaria, Lindera, Listea, Nectandra, Persea, Sassafras, Umbellularia
Synonyms Tetranthera californica
Name authority (Hooker & Arnott) Nuttall: N. Amer. Sylv. 1: 87. (1842) Jussieu
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Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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