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Wasowski, Sally and Andy

Umbellularia californica

Umbellularia californica (Hook. & Arn.) Nutt.

California Laurel, California Bay, Oregon Myrtle, Pepperwood

Lauraceae (Laurel Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: umca

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

This is a pungently aromatic, evergreen tree; its variable form dependent on habitat. Broad-crowned if open grown or narrow in shade, it is a slow grower to 40, or more, ft. and sometimes remains an erect shrub in dry sites. The narrow, lance-shaped leaves are dark green and leathery. The bark is greenish to reddish-brown. Yellow-green flowers, 6-10 per flowering stem, are followed by greenish, avocado-like fruits which become dark purple when ripe. Evergreen tree with short trunk, usually forked into several large, spreading branches, forming a broad, rounded, dense crown of aromatic, peppery foliage; in exposed situations a low, thicket-forming shrub.

A handsome ornamental and street tree on the West Coast, it is also known as "California-bay." When crushed, the foliage, twigs, and other parts are pungently aromatic. The attractive light brown wood with darker stalkless takes a beautiful finish and is used for veneer in furniture and paneling, cabinetwork, and interior trim. Prized for novelties and woodenware, it is often marketed as "Oregon-myrtle," though a member of the Laurel Family. California Laurel and Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) are the northernmost New World representatives of this tropical family.

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