Malosma

Last updated

Laurel sumac
Malosma laurina 1.jpg
Malosma laurina,
the Laurel sumac
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Anacardiaceae
Subfamily: Anacardioideae
Genus: Malosma
Nutt. ex Abrams
Species:
M. laurina
Binomial name
Malosma laurina
(Nutt.) Nutt. ex Abrams
Malosma laurina in bloom. The bumblebee on the right side of the flower cluster (and near its middle) sets the scale of the photograph. Malosma laurina 2.jpg
Malosma laurina in bloom. The bumblebee on the right side of the flower cluster (and near its middle) sets the scale of the photograph.

Malosma is a plant genus which contains only a single species, Malosma laurina, with the common names laurel sumac and lentisco (Spanish). [1] Malosma laurina is found along the southern California and Baja California coasts of the Pacific Ocean.

Contents

Description

Fruits of Malosma laurina. Malosma laurina 3.jpg
Fruits of Malosma laurina.

Malosma laurina is a large, rounded evergreen shrub or small tree growing 3 to 5 meters (10–15 feet) tall.

The leaves have a taco shell shape. When flattened, they have the shape of laurel leaves, with lance-shaped leaf blades up to 10 cm (4") long. The tips of the stems, little stem attaching the leaf to the stems (petiole), the veins of the leaves, and the edges of the leaves, are a glowing reddish color all year long.

The fragrant leaves and stems give chaparral its characteristic fragrance. The leaves and stems are full of volatile compounds that give it the scent. Laurel sumac has adapted to fire return intervals of 50-100+ years in the chaparral areas where it grows, and after a fire burns its above ground parts, a large burl underground resprouts new stems and leaves.

In southern California where it grows, the winters are relatively wet and the summers are dry (a Mediterranean climate). The laurel sumac grows new leaves and stems all year long, even during dry season. Most other plants where it grows stop growing leaves during the summer dry season and focus their energies on their root systems. The fragrant saps flow through laurel sumac all year to supply the leaves. One effect of this is that laurel sumac is one of the first plants that resprout after a fire, before the winter rains cause other plants to stop being dormant for the dry season. Another effect is that the parasitic plant (a plant that grows into other plants, not the soil) California dodder ( Cuscuta californica ), which dies in the summer on other plants, can be seen covering laurel sumac in large stringy "cobwebs" of yellow/orange color.

Laurel sumac is sensitive to cold and tolerates extended freezing conditions poorly. Orange growers in the early history of southern California used to pick places to plant their oranges based on where laurel sumac was growing because this indicated it would not get too cold for oranges if laurel sumac could grow there.

The very small flowers have five white petals and five-lobed green sepals. Large clusters of these flowers occur at the ends of twigs in late spring and early summer. The clusters (panicles) are 7–15 cm (3 to 6 ") long, and are reminiscent of lilac (see photo). [2] [3] The fruit is a whitish drupe 3 mm (1/8") in diameter with a smooth, flattish stone inside (see photo). [4]

In bloom, the flowers give off a "woodsy-herbal" smell that is likened to both green apples and turpentine. [5] [6]

Distribution

Malosma laurina is distributed along the southern California coastline (primarily from Point Conception south to La Paz), and on several of the Channel Islands lying off the coast. [2] [7] Several records of the species have also been made north of Point Conception, around the city of Arroyo Grande, California. Malosma laurina is not frost-hardy. [8]

Malosma laurina occurs in coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and oak woodland formations. It occasionally grows in nearly pure stands in coastal sage scrub; more frequently, it codominates with California sagebrush ( Artemisia californica ) and black, white, or purple sage ( Salvia mellifera , S. apiana, or S. leucophylla). In mixed chaparral, it often codominates with bigpod ceanothus (Ceanothus megacarpus) and spiny ceanothus (C. spinosus). In woodlands, Malosma laurina is an understory associate with Engelmann oak ( Quercus engelmannii ), valley oak (Q. lobata), coast live oak (Q. agrifolia), and California black walnut ( Juglans californica ). [2]

Naming

The common name "laurel" was chosen because the foliage is reminiscent of bay laurel – Laurus nobilis, an otherwise unrelated shrub and small tree of the Mediterranean Basin. [9] The species was previously assigned to the genus Rhus , and was known as Rhus laurina.

Cultivation

Malosma laurina is used as a landscape plant, native plant, drought tolerant, and wildlife gardens in frost-free areas. [8]

Naturally occurring plants have been used as "sentinel plants" by avocado and citrus growers to indicate areas that are free of frost and suitable for their orchards in Southern California. [2]

Use

The Chumash crushed and ate the dried fruits of Malosma laurina — perhaps as a flour or meal — and also used the root bark to make a tea for treating dysentery. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaparral</span> Shrubland plant community in western North America

Chaparral is a shrubland plant community found primarily in California, in southern Oregon and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate and infrequent, high-intensity crown fires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumac</span> Related species of plants in the family Anacardiaceae

Sumac or sumach is any of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genus Rhus and related genera in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae). Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout every continent except Antarctica and South America. Sumac is used as a spice, as a dye, and in medicine.

<i>Umbellularia</i> Genus of trees

Umbellularia californica is a large hardwood tree native to coastal forests and the Sierra foothills of California, and to coastal forests extending into Oregon. It is endemic to the California Floristic Province. It is the sole species in the genus Umbellularia.

<i>Toxicodendron diversilobum</i> Species of plant

Toxicodendron diversilobum, commonly named Pacific poison oak or western poison oak, is a woody vine or shrub in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. It is widely distributed in western North America, inhabiting conifer and mixed broadleaf forests, woodlands, grasslands, and chaparral biomes. Peak flowering occurs in May. Like other members of the genus Toxicodendron, T. diversilobum causes itching and allergic rashes in most people after contact by touch or smoke inhalation. Despite its name, it is not closely related to oaks, nor is it a true tree.

<i>Salvia mellifera</i> Species of shrub

Salvia mellifera is a small, highly aromatic, evergreen shrub of the genus Salvia native to California, and Baja California, Mexico. It is common in the coastal sage scrub of Southern California and northern Baja California. Black sage has a dark appearance, especially during drought.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern California coastal forests</span> Temperate coniferous forests ecoregion in northern California and southwestern Oregon

The Northern California coastal forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of coastal Northern California and southwestern Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal sage scrub</span> Shrubland plant community of California

Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is within the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.

<i>Adenostoma fasciculatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Adenostoma fasciculatum, commonly known as chamise or greasewood, is a flowering plant native to California and Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the California chaparral ecoregion. Chamise produces a specialized lignotuber underground and at the base of the stem, known as a burl, that allow it to resprout after fire has off burned its stems. It is noted for its greasy, resinous foliage, and its status as one of California's most iconic chaparral shrubs.

<i>Frangula californica</i> Species of tree

Frangula californica is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family native to western North America. It produces edible fruits and seeds. It is commonly known as California coffeeberry and California buckthorn.

<i>Paeonia californica</i> Species of tree

Paeonia californica is a perennial herbaceous plant of 35–70 cm high, that retreats underground in summer, and reoccurs with the arrival of the winter rains. It has lobed leaves, elliptic (cup-shaped) drooping flowers with dark maroon-colored petals, and many yellow anthers. It flowers mostly from January to March, and later develops two to five fruits per flower. Its common name is California peony and it is sometimes also referred to as wild peony. This peony is an endemic of southwestern California (USA), where it is not rare, and northernmost Baja California (Mexico). It grows on dry hillsides in the coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities of the coastal mountains of Southern and Central California, often as an understory plant.

<i>Artemisia californica</i> Species of plant

Artemisia californica, also known as California sagebrush, is a species of western North American shrub in the sunflower family.

<i>Rhus integrifolia</i> Species of shrub

Rhus integrifolia, also known as lemonade sumac, lemonade berry, or lemonadeberry, is a shrub to small tree. It is native to the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges and the South Coast regions of Southern California. This extends from Santa Barbara County and the Channel Islands to San Diego County and extending into north-central Pacific coastal Baja California and its offshore islands such as Cedros Island.

<i>Rhus ovata</i> Species of tree

Rhus ovata, commonly known as sugar bush or sugar sumac, is a shrub or small tree found growing in the canyons and slopes of the chaparral and related ecosystems in Southern California, Arizona, Baja California and Baja California Sur. It is a long lived-plant, up to 100 years, and has dense evergreen foliage that make it conspicuous. It is closely related to and hybridizes with the lemonade sumac.

<i>Ceanothus integerrimus</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus integerrimus, known by the common name deer brush, is a species of woody shrub in the family Rhamnaceae, native to the western United States in Arizona, New Mexico, California, Oregon, and Washington. It grows in montane chaparral and woodlands regions, in hardwood forests, and in fir, spruce, and Ponderosa pine plant communities, being most abundant in the California chaparral and woodlands and Sierra Nevada.

<i>Rhus trilobata</i> Species of shrub

Rhus trilobata is a shrub in the sumac genus (Rhus) with the common names skunkbush sumac, sourberry, skunkbush, and three-leaf sumac. It is native to the western half of Canada and the Western United States, from the Great Plains to California and south through Arizona extending into northern Mexico. It can be found from deserts to mountain peaks up to about 7,000 feet (2,100 m) in elevation.

<i>Eriodictyon capitatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Eriodictyon capitatum, the Lompoc yerba santa, is a rare evergreen shrub in the borage family. It is endemic to western Santa Barbara County, in California.

<i>Ceanothus verrucosus</i> Species of flowering plant

Ceanothus verrucosus is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common names wart-stem ceanothus, barranca brush, coast lilac and white coast ceanothus. It is endemic to northwestern Baja California and San Diego County, where it grows in coastal sage scrub and coastal succulent scrub habitats. It is considered a rare species north of the international border, as most of the valuable coastal land that hosts this plant in the San Diego area has been claimed for development. In California, several extant populations still remain scattered around the region, such as one protected at Torrey Pines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California coastal sage and chaparral</span> Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in Mexico and the United States

The California coastal sage and chaparral is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion located in southwestern California and northwestern Baja California (Mexico). It is part of the larger California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion.

<i>Rhus aromatica</i> Species of shrub

Rhus aromatica, the fragrant sumac, is a deciduous shrub in the family Anacardiaceae native to North America. It is found in southern Canada and nearly all of the lower 48 states except peninsular Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chumash Indian Museum</span> Chumash Interpretive Center in Thousand Oaks, CA

Chumash Indian Museum is a Native American Interpretive Center in northeast Thousand Oaks, California. It is the site of a former Chumash village, known as Sap'wi. It is located in Oakbrook Regional Park, a 432-acre park which is home to a replica of a Chumash village and thousand year-old Chumash pictographs. The pictographs by nearby Birthing Cave are not open to the public, but can be observed on docent-led tours. Chumash people inhabited the village 10,000 years ago.

References

  1. ↑ Integrated Taxonomic Information System (2007). Malosma, retrieved June 10, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Howard, Janet L. (1992). Malosma laurina, in: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). This article is remarkably comprehensive and well referenced. Webpage retrieved June 12, 2007.
  3. ↑ Seiler, John R., Jensen, Edward C., and Peterson, John A. (2007). "Malosma laurina Fact Sheet." Archived 2007-09-05 at the Wayback Machine Tree identification photographs and information from the Dendrology database and website Archived 2007-06-30 at the Wayback Machine maintained by the Department of Forestry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
  4. ↑ Gatlin, Connie (undated). Malosma laurina (Laurel Sumac), from the San Diego Natural History Museum website, retrieved June 10, 2007.
  5. ↑ Sudderth, Carolanne (1999), "The Canyon's Own Perfume: Laurel Sumac," Archived 2007-08-18 at the Wayback Machine The Santa Monica Mirror, Vol. 1 (5), July 21–28, 1999. Online version retrieved June 10, 2007.
  6. ↑ Brennan, Pat (2007), "Laurel sumac is fair weather friend," Orange County Register . Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  7. ↑ Wilken, Dieter H. (1993). Malosma, article in The Jepson manual: higher plants of California, James C. Hickman, editor (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), ISBN   978-0-520-08255-7. Online version retrieved June 10, 2007.
  8. 1 2 Rhus laurina Laurel Sumac, website of the Las Pilitas nursery. Retrieved June 10, 2007.
  9. ↑ "NPIN: Malosma laurina (Laurel sumac)," page of the website maintained by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved July 10, 2007.
  10. ↑ Timbrook, Jan (1990). "Ethnobotany of Chumash Indians, California," based on collections by John P. Harrington". Economic Botany. 44 (2): 236–253. doi: 10.1007/BF02860489 . S2CID   25807034.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.