Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that 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.
Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elongated leaves, known as "laurophyll" or "lauroid". Plants from the laurel family (Lauraceae) may or may not be present, depending on the location.
Litsea is a genus of evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes a large number of accepted species in tropical and subtropical areas of North America and Asia.
The term Malabar rainforests refers to one or more distinct ecoregions recognized by biogeographers:
- the Malabar Coast moist forests formerly occupied the coastal zone to the 250 metre elevation
- the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests grow at intermediate elevations
- the South Western Ghats montane rain forests cover the areas above 1000 metres elevation
Leucosidea sericea, commonly known as oldwood, is an evergreen tree or large shrub that grows in the highland regions of southern Africa. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus Leucosidea. The name oldwood may reflect the fact that the wood burns slowly, as if old and rotting; the gnarled, twisted trunks reinforce this impression.
Litsea calicaris, the mangeao, is an evergreen tree endemic to the North Island of New Zealand, occurring in lowland forest from near North Cape south to about 38°S. It belongs to the Laurel family, Lauraceae.
Dipterocarpus grandiflorus is a species of flowering plant in the Dipterocarpaceae family. It is an endangered medium hardwood tree of Southeast Asia. It is a large tree which can grow up to 50 metres tall.
Neolitsea dealbata, also known as white bolly gum, hairy-leaved bolly gum, or simply bolly gum, is a shrub or small tree in the laurel family Lauraceae which is native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia.
Garcinia rubroechinata, commonly known as malamkongu and sometimes known as Garcinia rubro-echinata, is a species of flowering plant in the family Clusiaceae. It is a tree which grows to 20 meters tall. It is found only in the Western Ghats of southern India.
Actinodaphne lawsonii is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Hopea foxworthyi is an evergreen tree of the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is endemic to Sibuyan Island in the Philippines.
Litsea longifolia is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. It is known as "rath keliya - රත් කෙලිය" in Sinhala.
Litsea travancorica is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is a tree that grows from 7 to 10 metres tall. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India, in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. It grows in semi-evergreen and evergreen montane rain forests from 800 to 1,200 metres elevation.
Quercus macdougallii is a species of plant in the family Fagaceae. It is placed in section Quercus.
Lomatia ferruginea, commonly known as fuinque, is a small evergreen tree in the family Proteaceae.
Encephalartos altensteinii is a palm-like cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to South Africa. The species name altensteinii commemorates Altenstein, a 19th-century German chancellor and patron of science. It is commonly known as the breadtree, broodboom, Eastern Cape giant cycad or uJobane (Zulu). It is listed as vulnerable due to habitat destruction, use for traditional medicine and removal by collectors.
Dalbergia latifolia is a premier timber species, also known as the Indian rosewood. It is native to low-elevation tropical monsoon forests of south east India. Some common names in English include rosewood, Bombay blackwood, roseta rosewood, East Indian rosewood, reddish-brown rosewood, Indian palisandre, and Java palisandre. Its Indian common names are beete, and satisal. The tree grows to 40 metres (130 ft) in height and is evergreen, but locally deciduous in drier subpopulations.
Litsea monopetala is a plant in the family Lauraceae, native to China and tropical Asia. In Nepal, it is found in the regions from the Terai to 1450 m, in Shorea robusta forest and tropical evergreen forest. In India it is found in Assam, Odisha, Eastern Himalayas, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore).
Litsea glutinosa is a rainforest tree in the laurel family, Lauraceae. Common names include soft bollygum, bolly beech, Bollywood, bollygum, brown bollygum, brown Bollywood, sycamore and brown beech.
Litsea garciae, also known as engkala, engkalak, kangkala, pangalaban, and Borneo avocado, is a flowering tree in the family Lauraceae. It is native to Taiwan, the Philippines, Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi.
