Camphor Laurel

Camphor tree is cultivated as an ornamental tree and for commercial purposes to extract laurel camphor from leaves and wood. The camphor yield is very variable, depending on strains and localities. Camphor oil from the leaves often contains saffrol.

Cinnamomum camphora is naturalized locally in the flora. Its crushed leaves have a strong smell of camphor. This species yields commercial camphor.

The name Cinnamomum camphora (Linnaeus) T. Nees & C. H. Ebermaier is nomenclaturally invalid.

Trees large; branchlets slender, glabrous; terminal buds large, perulate, the outer bud scales glabrous, the inner sericeous. Leaves spirally arranged, glabrous, chartaceous to sub-coriaceous, ovate-elliptic to elliptic to subovate-elliptic, 1-5 x 3-10 cm, base acute or tapered-cuneate, both surfaces minutely reticulate or above smooth; main nerves slender; the sub-basal lateral nerves ascendent to 1/2- 2/3 the lamina length, additional nerves erect-patent, often the axils bullate above and excavate pilose underneath, secondary nerves faint. Petiole slender, 2-4 cm long. Panicles axillary, slender, glabrous, many-flowered, up to 10 cm long with few short branches. Pedicels 1-2 mm, obconical. Tepals ovate, acutish, fleshy, c. 2 mm. Stamens 1.5 mm long; anthers broad, filaments as long, pilose; inner anthers truncate, upper cells smaller, latrorse; gland large, attached to the basal part of the filament. Staminodes mm, stipitate. Style as long as the ovary with peltate triquetrous stigma. Fruit globose, slightly fleshy, 5-10 mm in diameter, seated on a shallow, thin cup, 3-5 mm in diameter at the apex, 1-2 mm deep, the basal part fleshy, obconical, usually not differentiated from the obconical pedicel, together 5-7 mm long.

Trees , to 15 m. Branches terete, glabrous, terminal and axillary buds covered by imbricate bracts, young twigs with clusters of scars from fallen bracts. Leaves alternate; petiole to 3 cm. Leaf blade ovate to elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, with (1-)3 primary veins, 7-12 × 3-5 cm, base rounded to cuneate, apex sharply acute; surfaces glabrous except for pubescent domatia in axils of main lateral veins. Flowers: tepals greenish white, 1-2 mm, glabrous abaxially, pubescent adaxially; stamens arranged in outer whorl of 6 (actually 2 whorls of 3) and inner whorl of 3. Drupe to 9 mm diam. 2 n = 24.

Native of Japan; widely cultivated elsewhere.

Distribution: Cultivated all over the world.

introduced; Ala., Miss., Fla., Ga., La., N.C., S.C., Tex.; native, e Asia.

1300-1500 m

Fl. Per.: March-April.

Flowering spring (Apr-May).

Moist subtropical areas, including the Gulf Coast; 0-150m.

Laurus camphora Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 369. 1753; Camphora camphora (Linnaeus) H. Karsten