Stats

Lifespan: Up to 200 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

California Bay Laurel is an aromatic evergreen tree native to coastal and foothill forests of California and Oregon, producing elliptical leaves so pungently volatile that inhaling them for too long can trigger intense headaches. Indigenous peoples roasted its marble-sized nuts as a rich, coffee-like food source.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Laurales
Family: Lauraceae
Genus: Umbellularia
Species: Umbellularia californica