CALIFORNIA LAUREL.
Umbellularia Californica, Nutt. Laurel Family.
Shrubs or trees, ten to one hundred feet high. Leaves.—Alternate; short-petioled; lanceolate-oblong; two to four inches long; smooth, shining green; very aromatic. Flowers.—In clusters. Sepals.—Six; greenish-white; two and a half lines long. Petals.—None. Stamens.—Nine; in three rows; the filaments of the inner row having on either side, at base, a stalked orange-colored gland. Anthers.—Four-celled; the cells opening by uplifting lids. Ovary.—One-celled. Style stout. Stigma lobed. Fruit.—Olive-like; an inch long; becoming purple. Hab.—From Oregon to San Diego.
Early in February we usually have some of our loveliest days. Life is then pulsing and throbbing everywhere at full tide. The clear sunshine, the murmur of streams, the odor of the freshly turned sod, the caroling of larks all are eloquent of the springtime. The whole air is filled with a strange, spicy fragrance which makes it a delight to breathe. The California laurel is shaking out a delicious, penetrating odor from its countless blossoms.
Mr. Sargent refers to this tree as one of the stateliest and most beautiful inhabitants of the North American forests, and one of the most striking features of the California landscape.
In France it is now much appreciated and cultivated in parks and gardens.
In Southern California it is only a shrub; but in the central and northern counties it becomes a magnificent tree, a hundred feet in height and from four to six feet in diameter. It thrives best in the rich soil along stream-banks, though it grows also upon hillsides. It would be impossible to mistake this tree for any other; for its leaves, when crushed, give out a peculiar pungent odor which, if inhaled too much, will cause headache. The odor is something like that of bay-rum. The Indians, as well as our own people, acting upon the homeopathic principle, use them as a remedy for headache. The oil is also used effectively in toothache, earache, etc., and enters into the composition of certain patent medicines.
The wood of the laurel is one of the most beautiful employed by the cabinet-maker, and it is largely used in the manufacture of choice furniture. The olive-like fruit is ripe by July, and would remain upon the tree until the next year were not the squirrels so fond of it.
This tree is known in different localities by a variety of names, such as "spice-bush," "balm of heaven," "sassafras laurel," "cajeput," "California bay-tree," "California olive," "mountain laurel," and "California laurel." But the last of these is the one prevalent where its finest forms are found.