Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Magnoliids: Laurales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (2/8/20):
Camphora officinarum
FAMILY
Lauraceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Camphortree at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cinnamomum camphora
FAMILY
Lauraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (INVALID NAME)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Camphora camphora
COMMON NAME:
Camphortree
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm150301_801
March Charleston County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm150301_802
March Charleston County SC
Leaves glabrous, long-petioled, spicy-aromatic when crushed, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide.
)
JK Marlow jkm150301_805b
March Charleston County SC
Leaf margins entire, yellowish-green, and wavy, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests.
)
JK Marlow jkm150301_805c
March Charleston County SC
Buds 1.2cm long, sharp-pointed, with overlapping scales, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests.
)
James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org bug_5421916
June
)
James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org bug_5421918
October
Many fleshy dangling drupes, turning black with a funnel-shaped green base, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests.
)
James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org bug_5421917
November
Bark brownish, fissured, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide.
)
James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org bug_1539078
Month Unknown
Twigs green, glabrous, aromatic, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide.
)
Forest and Kim Starr, Starr Environmental, Bugwood.org bug_5284094
Month Unknown
)
T. Davis Sydnor, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org bug_5497873
Month Unknown SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (2/8/20):
Camphora officinarum
FAMILY
Lauraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cinnamomum camphora
FAMILY
Lauraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (INVALID NAME)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Camphora camphora
330
Tree
Perennial
Non-native: east Asia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Common (uncommon in SC) (rare in GA Piedmont, rare in NC)
Look for it in disturbed areas, suburban woodlands, increasingly in natural forests, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate
Petioles to 1" long
FLOWER:
Spring
Greenish-white/ Yellowish
Bisexual
3-merous
6 tepals?
9 stamens, 3 staminodes
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Bluish-black
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control p051
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests p006
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide p348
- Trees of the Southeastern United States p212
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide p102