LAURACEAE - - Laurel Family

Persea borbonia (Linnaeus) Sprengel — Red Bay

Red Bay (Persea borbonia) - A large tree with bark broken into flat ridges; Leaves alternate, persistent; blades entire, elliptic or nearly so, 5—15 cm. long, often acuminate at both ends, bright-green and lustrous above, glaucescent and finely reticulate beneath; flowers in axillary peduncled cymes, greenish; sepals 6, dissimilar, ascending, the inner ovate, 2—3 times longer than the outer, acutish; style long-columnar; stigma capitate; drupe equilateral, obovoid or globose-obovoid, 1—1.5 cm. long, dark-blue or nearly black, lustrous. The bright-red heartwood, close-grained, heavy, and strong, is used for cabinet-work and construction.

Habitat:

Hammocks, dunes, maritime forests, in dry sandy soils on barrier islands.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

The range of Persea borbonia (Red Bay)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Persea borbonia (Red Bay)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.