Umbellularia

Umbellularia californica is a large hardwood tree native to coastal forests of California, as well as to coastal forests extending into Oregon. It is endemic to the California Floristic Province. It is the sole species in the genus Umbellularia. The tree was formerly known as Oreodaphne californica. In Oregon, this tree is known as Oregon myrtle, while in California it is called California bay laurel, which may be shortened to California bay or California laurel. It has also been called pepperwood, spicebush, cinnamon bush, peppernut tree, headache tree, mountain laurel, and balm of heaven. The tree's pungent leaves have a similar flavor to bay leaves, though stronger, and it may be mistaken for bay laurel. The dry wood has a color range from blonde (like maple) to brown (like walnut). It is considered an excellent tonewood and is sought after by luthiers and woodworkers. The tree is a host of the pathogen that causes sudden oak death. This tree mostly inhabits redwood forests, California mixed woods, yellow pine forest, and oak woodlands. Bays occur in oak woodlands only close to the coast, or in extreme northern California where moisture is sufficient. During the Miocene, oak-laurel forests were found in Central and Southern California. Typical tree species included oaks ancestral to present-day California oaks, and an assemblage of trees from the laurel family, including Nectandra, Ocotea, Persea, and Umbellularia. Only one native species from the laurel family, Umbellularia californica, remains in California today. In the north, it reaches its distributional limit through southwest Oregon to (infrequently) Newport, Lincoln County, Oregon, on the coast, extending from there south through California to San Diego County. It is also found in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It occurs at altitudes from sea level up to 1600 m. An isolated, more northern occurrence of the species can be found in Tacoma, Washington, around Snake Lake near the Tacoma Nature Center. There are also two recorded instances of trees growing in coastal British Columbia. It is an evergreen tree growing to 30 m tall with a trunk up to 80 cm thick. The largest recorded tree is inMendocino County, California, and measured (as of 1997) 108 feet (33 m) in height and 119 feet (36 m) in spread.