07 Dec Camphor laurel
Cinnamomum camphora
Once a common park and shade tree, now extensively naturalised, Camphor Laurels are now listed as Noxious in many areas of NSW.
Family: Lauraceae
Origin: China, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and Cheju-do (Korea)
Habit: A large, hardy evergreen spreading tree 20-30m in height.
Grey-brown, textured bark, becoming fissured with age.
Leaves: Leaves 5-11cm long, ovate, glossy on upper surface; dull and chalky on lower surface. 3 main veins arise from petiole joint at base of leaf. Strong camphor smell when crushed.
Flowers: Inflorescence a panicle. Flowers Small, white, produced in
clusters in Spring.
Fruit: Glossy green spherical berry to 1cm wide, ripen to black in late autumn. Each berry contains one seed.
Roots: Strong root system capable of copicing and suckering.
Dispersal: Seed spread by water, animals (foxes, rats & birds), humans, contaminated soil (earthmoving equipment, car tyres etc) and garden refuse dumping.
Control: Hand dig/pull juvenile plants. Various foliar spray methods also drill-injection; frilling; cut and paint. Difficult to control.
Planted in eastern Australian 1854 as a shade and street tree in school yards, playgrounds, cemeteries, parks and agriculturally. It has naturalised from the Nowra region to north Queensland, in areas of high annual rainfall.
