The flowering plant family Lauraceae, the laurels, includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide. They are dicotyledons, and occur mainly in warm temperate and tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America. Many are aromatic evergreen trees or shrubs, but some, such as Sassafras, are deciduous, or include both deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, especially in tropical and temperate climates. The genus Cassytha is unique in the Lauraceae in that its members are parasitic vines. Most laurels are highly-poisonous.
Persea is a genus of about 150 species of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The best-known member of the genus is the avocado, P. americana, widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large, edible fruit.
The Monimiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the magnoliid order Laurales. It is closely related to the families Hernandiaceae and Lauraceae. It consists of shrubs, small trees, and a few lianas of the tropics and subtropics, mostly in the southern hemisphere. The largest center of diversity is New Guinea, with about 75 species. Lesser centres of diversity are Madagascar, Australia, and the neotropics. Africa has one species, Xymalos monospora, as does Southern Chile. Several species are distributed through Malesia and the southwest Pacific.
Ocotea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves.
Cassytha is a genus of some two dozen species of obligately parasitic vines in the family Lauraceae. Superficially, and in some aspects of their ecology, they closely resemble plants in the unrelated genus Cuscuta, the dodders. When fruit and flowers are absent in the field, the physical resemblance is so close that few people without technical training can discern the difference. In this respect and in their ecology the two genera present a spectacular example of convergent evolution. Nonetheless, Nickrent comments that "Cassytha is uneqivocally assigned to Lauraceae based on (both) morphological and molecular data." In its divergence from habits typical of the Lauraceae, Cassytha also presents examples of mosaic evolution
Aiouea is a genus of shrubs and trees in the family Lauraceae. It is native to tropical forests and montane forests of North and South America. The name is a curiosity because it consists entirely of vowels.
Nectandra is a genus of plant in the family Lauraceae. They are primarily Neotropical, with Nectandra coriacea being the only species reaching the southernmost United States. They have fruit with various medical effects. Sweetwood is a common name for some plants in this genus.
Damburneya cufodontisii is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Nectandra gracilis is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
Nectandra grisea is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is native to Brazil and Peru.
Nectandra heterotricha is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is endemic to Peru.
Nectandra impressa is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is endemic to Brazil.
Nectandra krugii, Krug's sweetwood, is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is found in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Hispaniola, Martinique, Netherlands Antilles, and Puerto Rico.
Damburneya leucocome is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is endemic to Chiapas state in southwestern Mexico.
Damburneya matudae is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae.
Damburneya mirafloris is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is endemic to Nicaragua.
Nectandra obtusata is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is found in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador.
Nectandra parviflora is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
Damburneya salicina is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
Damburneya smithii is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
