Californian Laurel

Californian Laurel (Umbellularia Californica) - A handsome evergreen tree, seldom planted, though hardy in our southern gardens and suited to walls where too tender for the open. It might pass as a narrow-leaved form of the Common Bay, the resemblance in the shape of leaves and their texture being emphasised by a like fragrance being emitted when they are bruised. This is due to a volatile oil present in such quantity that the fresh-cut brushwood burns readily, while from the leaves "Bay water" is distilled. The fragrance becomes oppressive and even dangerous in a confined space, causing sneezing, headache, and a kind of temporary paralysis in extreme cases. In its own land it makes a noble evergreen tree 90 to 100 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 4, 6, or even 8 feet in rare instances where the trees have endured for centuries. It flourishes upon the foothills and along the banks of water-courses, growing in dense groves which sometimes extend for miles, as beside the Eel River in Humboldt County. It is perhaps the most valuable timber tree of the North Pacific Coast, where its wood is in great demand for furniture and house decoration. The small greenish-yellow flowers appear as dense clusters, followed by fruits at first like a green Walnut in size and appearance, turning purple when fully ripe and hanging for many months. Imported seed germinates without difficulty. There are few better seaside trees, the foliage being dense and very resistant and its color distinct and good. It grows freely in a dry porous soil, and in default of seed may be increased by cuttings taken in early summer; but seed is in every way best. Syn., Oreodaphne californica.

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