Umbellularia californica

(Hooker & Arnott) Nuttall

N. Amer. Sylv. 1: 87. 1842.

Common names: California bay Oregon-myrtle myrtle-wood California laurel pepperwood
Illustrated
Basionym: Tetranthera californica Hooker & Arnott Bot. Beechey Voy., 159. 1833
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 3.

Trees or shrubs, to 45 m; twigs terete, glabrous or sparsely appressed-pubescent, rarely minutely tomentose. Leaf-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. Inflorescences pubescent. Flowers 5-10; tepals 6-8 mm. Drupe usually solitary, 2 cm or more diam. 2n =24.

Distribution

Calif., Oreg., w coast, North America

Discussion

Varieties 2

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

Selected References

None.

Key

1 Leaf blade abaxially glabrous or sparsely appressed-pubescent. Umbellularia californica var. californica
1 Leaf blade abaxially minutely tomentose. Umbellularia californica var. fresnensis
... more about "Umbellularia californica"
Henk van der Werff +
(Hooker & Arnott) Nuttall +
dark-brown +
obtuse +  and acute +
Tetranthera californica +
deciduous +
California bay +, Oregon-myrtle +, myrtle-wood +, California laurel +  and pepperwood +
single-rimmed +
Calif. +, Oreg. +, w coast +  and North America +
dark purple;greenish +
spheric-ovoid +
pistillate +  and staminate +
reddish;usually yellow;greenish or white +
5 +  and 10 +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
elliptic +  and oblong +
petiolate +  and simple +
pseudoumbel +  and stalked +
N. Amer. Sylv. +
Illustrated +
capitate +  and discoid +
gland-dotted +
glabrous +, tomentose +  and appressed-pubescent +
Umbellularia californica +
Umbellularia +
species +
deciduous +
3 +  and 6 +
unequal +  and smaller +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
tomentose +, appressed-pubescent +  and glabrous +
shrub +  and tree +
3 +  and 2 +