{{Short description|Genus of trees}} {{Speciesbox | image = Umbellularia californica 02.jpg | image_caption = Foliage and flowers | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Stritch, L. |date=2018 |title=''Umbellularia californica'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T62572A68077480 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T62572A68077480.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Umbellularia | parent_authority = Nutt. | species = californica | authority = (Hook. & Arn.) Nutt. | range_map = Umbellularia californica range map.png | range_map_caption = Natural range | synonyms = *''Drimophyllum'' <small>Nutt.</small> *''Drimophyllum pauciflorum'' {{small|Nutt.}} *''Litsea californica'' {{small|(Hook. & Arn.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex B.D.Jacks.}} *''Oreodaphne californica'' {{small|Nees}} *''Oreodaphne regalis'' {{small|Regel}} *''Persea causticans'' {{small|Pasq.}} *''Tetranthera californica'' {{small|Hook. & Arn.}} *''Tetranthera causticans'' {{small|(Pasq.) Pasq.}} *''Umbellularia californica'' var. ''fresnensis'' {{small|Eastw.}} *''Umbellularia californica'' f. ''pendula'' {{small|Rehder}} | synonyms_ref = <ref name = powo>{{cite web |title=''Umbellularia californica'' (Hook. & Arn.) Nutt. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30189264-2 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=9 May 2026}}</ref> }}
'''''Umbellularia californica''''' is a large hardwood tree native to coastal forests and the Sierra foothills of California, and extending into the coastal forests southwestern Oregon<ref name="CalFlora: Umbellularia californica">{{cite web | url = http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=8183 | title = ''Umbellularia californica'' (Hook. & Arn.) Nutt. | publisher = CalFlora | access-date = 2012-02-05 }}</ref> and the mountains of northwestern Baja California.<ref name = powo/> It is the sole species in the genus '''''Umbellularia''''', in the laurel family Lauraceae. The tree's pungent leaves have a similar flavor to bay leaves, though stronger, and it may be mistaken for bay laurel.
In Yuki, it is called '''pōl'-cum ōl'''.<ref>{{cite book|title = Plants Used by the Indians of Mendocino, California}}</ref> 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'''<ref name=BSBI07>{{BSBI 2007 |access-date=2014-10-17 }}</ref> or '''California laurel'''. It has also been called '''pepperwood''', '''spicebush''', '''cinnamon bush''', '''peppernut tree''', '''headache tree''',<ref name="pmid22036959">{{cite journal | author = Nassini, R.| year = 2011 | title = The 'headache tree' via umbellulone and TRPA1 activates the trigeminovascular system | journal = Brain | volume = 135 | issue = 2 | doi=10.1093/brain/awr272 | pmid=22036959 | pages=376–90|display-authors=etal| doi-access = free | hdl = 2158/599801 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> '''mountain laurel''',<ref name=Clarke>{{cite book|url=http://www.homeoint.org/clarke/o/oreod.htm|author=John Henry Clarke|title=A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica|year=1986|publisher=B. Jain Publishers/Médi-T|isbn=978-81-7021-013-9}}</ref> and '''balm of heaven'''.<ref name=Clarke/>
The tree is endemic to the California Floristic Province. It is a host of the pathogen that causes sudden oak death. 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 species was first described as ''Tetranthera californica'' by William Jackson Hooker and George Arnott Walker Arnott in 1833. In 1842 Thomas Nuttall placed the species in the newly-described genus ''Umbellularia'' as ''U. californica''.<ref name = powo/>
==Description== It is an evergreen tree growing to {{Convert|30|m|abbr=off}} tall with a trunk up to {{Convert|90|cm|abbr=off}} in diameter.<ref name="arno">{{Cite book |last1=Arno |first1=Stephen F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDD4DwAAQBAJ |title=Northwest Trees: Identifying & Understanding the Region's Native Trees |last2=Hammerly |first2=Ramona P. |publisher=Mountaineers Books |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-68051-329-5 |edition=field guide |location=Seattle |pages=277–280 |language=en |oclc=1141235469 |orig-date=1977}}</ref> The largest recorded tree is in Mendocino County, California, and measured (as of 1997) {{Convert|33|m|abbr=on}} in height with a {{Convert|119|ft|abbr=on|order=flip}} spread.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=American Forests, Washington D.C. |access-date=2012-09-21 |title=National register of big trees: California-laurel: ''Umbellularia californica'' |url=http://www.americanforests.org/bigtree/umbellularia-californica/ |archive-date=2012-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614115808/http://www.americanforests.org/bigtree/umbellularia-californica/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The thin bark is smooth and gray-brown when young, later turning reddish brown and scaly.<ref name="arno" />
The fragrant leaves are smooth-edged and lance-shaped, {{Conv|3–15|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long and around a third as wide,<ref name="arno" /> similar to the related bay laurel, though usually narrower, and without the crinkled margin of that species. The leaves are green, and lighter on the underside.<ref name="arno" /> The bark and leaves have a pungent scent resembling camphor when bruised,<ref name="arno" /> due to a chemical known as umbellulone.<ref name="pmid22036959" />
The flowers are small, yellow or yellowish-green, produced in small umbels (hence the scientific name ''Umbellularia'', "little umbel"). Unlike other "bay laurels" of the genus ''Laurus'', ''Umbellularia'' has perfect flowers (male and female parts in the same flower).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://selectree.calpoly.edu/tree-detail/Umbellularia-californica|title=California Laurel|publisher=Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute|access-date=2018-02-04}}</ref>
The fruit, also known as "California bay nut", is a round and green berry 2–2.5 cm long and 2 cm broad, lightly spotted with yellow, maturing purple. Under the thin, leathery skin, it consists of an oily, fleshy covering over a single hard, thin-shelled pit,<ref name="arno" /> and resembles a miniature avocado. (''Umbellularia'' is related to the avocado's genus ''Persea'', within the family Lauraceae.) The fruit ripens around October–November in the native range.
The oldest-known living laurel is the Jepson Laurel, named after Willis Linn Jepson, in San Mateo County. The tree lives on San Francisco Water Department land, the agency caring for the tree.<ref>"https://parks.smcgov.org/what-see-crystal-springs-trail What to See on Crystal Springs Trail." San Mateo County. Accessed November 28, 2021.</ref>
{{gallery|mode=packed |Umbellularia_californica_00094.JPG|Leaves |CaliforniaBayLaurelFlowers crwb.jpg|Flowers |Umbellularia Fruit.jpg|An unripe bay nut |Mature Umbellularia lignotuber sprouts in Doyle Community Park.jpg|Multiple sprouts }}
== Distribution and habitat == [[File:California bay laurel 2012-06-16.jpg|thumb|Tree on Permanente Creek in Rancho San Antonio County Park, Santa Clara County, in 2012, when it was one of the largest of its species in California{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}]] [[File:Californiabaylaurel_tacomawa2.jpg|thumb|Naturalized occurrence of species in Snake Lake Park, Tacoma, Washington]]
''Umbellularia'' is found in southwest Oregon and in California south to San Diego County. It is also found in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It occurs from sea level up to {{Convert|1600|m|abbr=on}} elevation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CPNWH Search Results |url=http://www.pnwherbaria.org/data/results.php?DisplayAs=WebPage&ExcludeCultivated=Y&GroupBy=ungrouped&SortBy=Year&SortOrder=DESC&SearchAllHerbaria=Y&QueryCount=1&IncludeSynonyms1=Y&Genus1=Umbellularia&Species1=californica&Zoom=4&Lat=55&Lng=-135&PolygonCount=0}}</ref> It is an introduced species in British Columbia,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collection Search |url=http://bridge.botany.ubc.ca/herbarium/details.php?db=vwsp.fmp12&layout=vwsp_web_details&recid=160896&ass_num=V227198 |access-date=2017-12-14 |archive-date=2017-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214124627/http://bridge.botany.ubc.ca/herbarium/details.php?db=vwsp.fmp12&layout=vwsp_web_details&recid=160896&ass_num=V227198 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Collection Search |url=http://bridge.botany.ubc.ca/herbarium/details.php?db=vwsp.fmp12&layout=vwsp_web_details&recid=91360&ass_num=V209829 |access-date=2017-12-14 |archive-date=2017-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214125012/http://bridge.botany.ubc.ca/herbarium/details.php?db=vwsp.fmp12&layout=vwsp_web_details&recid=91360&ass_num=V209829 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Washington,<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Umbellularia californica'' |url=https://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Umbellularia%20californica}}</ref> and northern Oregon.
It mostly inhabits redwood forests, California mixed woods, yellow pine forest, and oak woodlands. Bays occur in oak woodland close to the coast, and in northern California where moisture is sufficient, usually in or near riparian areas. The species is very shade tolerant. It is reduced to a shrub in extreme dry and hot habitats.<ref name="arno" />
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''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Axelrod, D. I. |year=2000 |title=A Miocene (10-12 Ma) Evergreen Laurel-Oak Forest from Carmel Valley, California |journal=University of California Publications: Geological Sciences |location=Berkeley, CA, USA |publisher=University of California Press |volume=145}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Barbour, M. G. |title=Terrestrial Vegetation of California |author2=Keeler-Wolf, T. |author3=Schoenherr A. A. |publisher=University of California Press |year=2007 |location=Berkeley, CA, USA |page=56}}</ref> Only one native species from the laurel family, ''Umbellularia californica'', remains in California today.{{Cn|date=March 2025}}
== Ecology == [[File:UmbellulariaLignotuber.jpg|thumb|Lignotuber near ground level provides fire-resistant storage of sprouting buds.]]
The trees resprout after being killed by fire.<ref name="arno" /> Deer browse the fresh sprouts.<ref name="arno" />
The species is a host of ''Phytophthora ramorum'', the pathogen that causes the disease sudden oak death. It is important in this sense because it is one of two tree species (tanoak being the other) on which the pathogen readily produces spores.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 3, 2006 |title=UC Tries to Stop Northward Movement of Sudden Oak Death |url=http://ucanr.edu/News/Sudden_Oak_Death/?uid=777&ds=191 |access-date=2012-09-21 |publisher=University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources}}</ref>
== Uses ==
===Historical usage=== ''Umbellularia'' has long been valued for its many uses by Native Americans throughout the tree's range, including the Cahuilla, Chumash, Ohlone, Pomo, Miwok, Yuki, Coos, and Salinan people.<ref name="USDA">{{cite web | url = https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/doc/cs_umca.doc | work = USDA Plant Guide | title = ''Umbellularia Californica'' }}</ref> The Concow tribe call the plant '''sō-ē'-bä''' (Konkow language).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chesnut | first1 =Victor King | author1-link=Victor King Chesnut |title=Plants used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vLkUAAAAYAAJ|access-date=24 August 2012|year=1902|publisher=Government Printing Office|page = 408}}</ref>
Poultices of ''Umbellularia'' leaves were used to treat rheumatism and neuralgias.<ref name="Goodrich">{{cite book | last = Goodrich | first = J. S. | author2 = Lawson, C.| author3 = Lawson, V. P. | title = Kashaya Pomo Plants | publisher = Heyday Books | year = 1980 | page = 176 | isbn = 978-0-930588-86-1 }}</ref> A tea was made from the leaves to treat stomach aches, colds, sore throats, and to clear up mucus in the lungs.<ref name="Chesnut">{{cite book | last = Chesnut | first = V. K. | title = Plants Used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California | publisher = Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium Vol. VII. Reprinted 1974 by Mendocino County Historical Society | year = 1902 | page = 114 | lccn = 08010527 | oclc = 6218739 }}</ref> The leaves were steeped in hot water to make an infusion that was used to wash sores.<ref name="Goodrich" /> The Pomo and Yuki tribes of Mendocino County treated headaches by placing a single leaf in the nostril or bathing the head with a laurel leaf infusion.<ref name="Chesnut" />
Both the flesh and the inner kernel of the fruit have been used as food by Native Americans. The fatty outer flesh of the fruit, or mesocarp, is palatable raw for only a brief time when ripe; prior to this the volatile aromatic oils are too strong, and afterwards the flesh quickly becomes bruised, like that of an overripe avocado.<ref name="Kevin">[http://feralkevin.com/?p=295 FeralKevin]: Foraging, Bushcraft, Permaculture, and Rewilding blog.</ref> Native Americans dried the fruits in the sun and ate only the lower third of the dried mesocarp, which is less pungent.<ref name="Chesnut" />
The hard inner seed underneath the fleshy mesocarp, like the pit of an avocado, cleaves readily in two when its thin shell is cracked. The pit itself was traditionally roasted to a dark chocolate-brown color, removing much of the pungency and leaving a spicy flavor.<ref name="Goodrich" /> Roasted, shelled "bay nuts" were eaten whole, or ground into powder and prepared as a drink which resembles unsweetened chocolate. The flavor, depending on roast level, has been described variously as "roast coffee," "dark chocolate" or "burnt popcorn".<ref>{{cite book | last = Kelly | first = I.| title = Coast Miwok | series = Handbook of North American Indians | volume = 8 | publisher = Smithsonian Institution | year = 1978 | page = 108 | isbn = 0-16-004574-6 }}</ref> The powder might also be used in cooking or pressed into cakes and dried for winter storage.<ref name="Goodrich" /> It has been speculated that the nuts contain a stimulant;<ref name = paleotech>{{cite web | url = http://www.paleotechnics.com/Articles/Bayarticle.html | work = Paleotechnics | title = The California Bay Laurel | publisher = Paleotechnics.com | access-date = 2007-03-01 | archive-date = 2010-09-23 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100923033643/http://www.paleotechnics.com/Articles/Bayarticle.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Moerman | first = D. E. | title = Native American Ethnobotany | publisher = Timber Press | year = 1998 | page = 927 | isbn = 978-0-88192-453-4 }}</ref> however this possible effect has been little documented by biologists.{{Cn|date=March 2025}}
===Modern usage=== thumb|Nearly ripe nuts being prepared for roasting thumb|Roasted nuts
The leaf has been used in cooking but contains large amounts of the toxic compound umbellulone, which causes methemoglobinemia. Umbellulone is absent from culinary bay leaves (''Laurus nobilis''). ''Umbellularia'' leaf imparts a somewhat stronger camphor/cinnamon flavor compared to the Mediterranean bay.<ref>{{cite book | last = Vizgirdas | first = R. S. | author2 = Rey-Vizgirdas, E. M. | title = Wild Plants of the Sierra Nevada | publisher = University of Nevada Press | year = 2006 | page = 108 | isbn = 978-0-87417-535-6 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4fYHi-Eyyt4C&pg=PA108}}</ref>
Some modern-day foragers and wild food enthusiasts have adopted Native American practices regarding the fruit, the bay nut, edible when roasted.<ref name="Kevin"/><ref name="paleotech"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wildfoodplants.com/california-bay-laurel |publisher=Wild Food Plants (blog)|title=California Bay Laurel |author=Sunny Savage |date=March 6, 2008 |access-date=2012-09-21}}</ref>
''Umbellularia californica'' is also used in woodworking. It is considered a tonewood, used to construct the backs and sides of acoustic guitars. The wood is very hard and fine, and is also made into bowls, spoons, and other small items and sold as "myrtlewood". It is also grown as an ornamental tree, both in its native area, and further north up the Pacific coast to Vancouver in Canada, and in western Europe. It can be planted as a hedge or windbreak.<ref name="arno" /> It is occasionally used for firewood.
According to a modern Miwok recipe for acorn soup, "it is essential that you add a generous amount of California laurel" when storing acorns to dry, to keep insects away from the acorns.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Nupa (Acorn) Soup | work = NativeTech: Indigenous Food and Traditional Recipes | access-date = 2012-09-16 | url = http://www.nativetech.org/recipes/recipe.php?recipeid=115 }}</ref>
One popular use for the leaves is to put them between the bed mattresses to get rid of, or prevent, flea infestations.{{Cn|date=March 2025}}
The wood is used as lumber in furniture making, especially highly figured specimens.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nwtimber.com/terms.asp|title=Northwest Timber: Wood Terms & Info|website=nwtimber.com|access-date=25 July 2016}}</ref>
==== "Myrtlewood" money ==== "Myrtlewood" is the only wood still in use as a base "metal" for legal tender.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.realoregongift.com/Myrtle_Tree_Story/myrtle_tree_story.html |title=Myrtle Tree Story |publisher=Realoregongift.com |access-date=2012-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131218214420/http://realoregongift.com/Myrtle_Tree_Story/myrtle_tree_story.html |archive-date=2013-12-18 }}</ref> During the 1933 "interregnum of despair" between Franklin Roosevelt's election and his inauguration, the only bank in the town of North Bend, Oregon—the First National—was forced to temporarily close its doors, precipitating a cash-flow crisis for the City of North Bend. The city solved this problem by minting its own currency, using myrtlewood discs printed on a newspaper press. These coins, in denominations from 25 cents to $10, were used to pay employees, with the city promising to redeem them for cash as soon as it became available.
However, when the bank reopened and the city appealed for people to bring their myrtlewood money in to redeem it, many opted to keep their tokens as collector's items. After several appeals, the city announced that the tokens would remain legal tender in the city of North Bend in perpetuity. The unredeemed tokens have become very valuable, because of scarcity and historical interest. Fewer than 10 full sets are believed to exist.<ref>{{cite web |author=Finn J.D. John |url=http://www.offbeatoregon.com/H1008e_north-bend-myrtlewood-money-still-legal-tender.html |title=When banks closed, town of North Bend minted its own money — out of wood |publisher=Offbeat Oregon History |date=August 29, 2010 |access-date=2012-08-17 |archive-date=2011-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111126122917/http://www.offbeatoregon.com/H1008e_north-bend-myrtlewood-money-still-legal-tender.html }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Umbellularia californica}}
*[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh?cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Full&list_uids=68027422 MeSH]: ''Umbellularia'' - ''Umbellularia californica'' (California Bay Laurel) *[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Umbellularia+californica Jepson Flora Project: ''Umbellularia californica''] *[http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/umbcal/all.html "Umbellularia californica"], Index of Species Information, U.S. Forest Service *[http://www.paleotechnics.com/Articles/Bayarticle.html "Paleotechnics: The California Bay Laurel"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923033643/http://www.paleotechnics.com/Articles/Bayarticle.html |date=2010-09-23 }} *[http://trees.stanford.edu/ENCYC/UMBca.htm "Encyclopedia of Stanford Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: ''Umbellularia californica''"]
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q15933047|from2=Q692162}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Lauraceae Category:Lauraceae genera Category:Monotypic Laurales genera Category:Trees of Northern America Category:Flora of California Category:Flora of Oregon Category:Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Category:Least concern flora of the United States Category:Least concern flora of Mexico Category:Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Category:Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Category:Trees of mild maritime climate Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Category:Pre-Columbian California cuisine Category:Garden plants of North America Category:Drought-tolerant plants Category:Ornamental trees Category:Plants described in 1833 Category:Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker Category:Taxa named by George Arnott Walker Arnott