Red Bay
Persea borbonia
Plant Family: Lauraceae
Leaves: Alternate, simple, lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, the leaves are aromatic when crushed, to 15 cm, green above, grayish white below.
Bark: Gray-brown, becoming darker and furrowed with age.
Flowers: Small, light greenish yellow, in clusters in the leaf axils; appearing from spring into summer.
Fruits: A distinctly stalked drupe, to 1 cm, green, ripening to blue; seen from late summer into fall; reportedly browsed by deer and turkey.
Habitat: A rather common Florida tree that is found in various habitats, including marsh edges, hammocks, and sandy soils, it ranges west on the coastal plain to Texas and north to Virginia.
Growth Form: Small to medium-sized tree.
Similar Species: Lancewood (Ocotea coriacea) has green leaf undersides; Swamp Bay (Persea palustris) has leaves brown-hairy beneath, especially along the midrib, and grows in wetter habitats.
Comments: The presence of leaf galls caused by insects, and the resulting sickle-shaped leaves is diagnostic. More problematic has been the recent introduction of a small Asian beetle that vectors a fungal disease (Laurel Wilt) that has been killing Red Bay throughout its range.
