FAMILY: LAURACEAE
ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: swamp bay
LEAVES: persistent, alternate, simple; elliptic to oblong, tapering at both ends, up to ca. 4” long by 2” wide; aromatic; dark green and glabrous above, pale green below with long shaggy pubescence at least along midrib and major lateral veins; leaves often misshapen by fungal infection; galls are common and conspicuous in Persea
FLOWER: perfect (bisexual), small, perianth cup-shaped, yellowish; flowers born in axillary cymes, the penduncles much longer than the petioles of associated leaves; flowering May-June
FRUIT: dark blue oblong drupe to 0.5” long, calyx persistent on fruit; fruit maturing September to October
TWIGS: shaggy pubescent when young, year-old twigs nearly glabrous, dark brown; terminal bud naked, reddish brown, densely hairy, ovoid, to ca. 0.25” long
BARK: dark reddish brown, deep irregular fissures, flat scaly ridges on older trees
FORM: small evergreen tree
HABITAT: baygalls, wet longleaf pine flatwoods, and seepage bogs on older coastal plain land surfaces; live oak natural levee forests and barrier island live oak forests in the coastal zone
WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Wetland (FACW): Usually occurs in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
RANGE: Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains [Flora of North America distribution]
USES:wood not of commercial importance, used locally for cabinetry, interior finish, and boat building; leaves used in cooking as a substitute for bay laurel (Laurus nobilis L.) leaves
WILDLIFE: moderate quality deer browse; seed is an important winter food for bobwhite quail in longleaf pine regions
Best Recognition Features:
- small evergreen shrub to tree, very common in acidic seepage wetlands, but also in coastal hammocks
- elliptic, persistent, aromatic leaves which are glossy and dark green above, pale beneath
- often some leaves on a given plant will exhibit galls and some deformity
Sassafras and the red bays (Persea spp.) are now in danger of die-backs by an exotic fungus: Raffaelea lauricola (laurel wilt pathogen) transferred from tree to tree by ambrosia beetles. Information on the fungus and the implications of infection are available from the USDA Forest Service HERE |
