# California Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica)

> California bay laurel, Umbellularia californica: a large tree of 25 to 75 feet where planted, for zones 7 to 9, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/california-bay-laurel/

![A wind-shaped California bay laurel with a dense, dark green crown beside a ridge trail](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/california-bay-laurel-1000.jpg?v=a731e06b "A wind-shaped California bay laurel on Rocky Ridge in Las Trampas Regional Wilderness, California, on January 5, 2015. It begins to bear seed at 30 to 40 years of age.")
*Photo: Dcrjsr, [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACalif_bay_vw_up_W_ridge_Las_Trampas.jpg))*

Large tree, 25 to 75 feet where planted, zones 7 to 9; full sun, part shade or shade; dry, average or wet ground.

We do not grow California bay laurel, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.

## At a glance

| Fact | California Bay Laurel |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | California laurel, California bay, Oregon myrtle, pepperwood, myrtlewood, spice-tree, Pacific myrtle, California olive, headache tree, peppernut tree, cinnamon bush |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 25 to 75 where planted; up to 175 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 75 |
| Zones | 7 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Medium |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Showy flowers, wildlife value, hedge or screen, salt tolerant, street tree, erosion control |
| Flowers | November to May |
| Fruit | Drupes, September to December |
| First crop | 30 to 40 years |
| Pollination | Not known whether one bears alone |
| Transplanting | Silvics of North America says: "They soon develop a moderately stout taproot and are difficult to transplant if more than 1 year old unless grown in containers." The Fire Effects Information System says: "California laurel is started from seed and transplants best when under 1 year of age." The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's plant guide says: "Transplant container grown seedlings when they are under 1 year old if possible." |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Toxicity | The leaves and their oil are poisonous to people. |
| Ground | Floodplain forests, stream banks, rich moist slopes, rocky ground and the coast |
| Native in | 2 states |

California bay laurel is native in 2 states: [California](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CA) and [Oregon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OR). The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from the Fire Effects Information System.

## What our tools say

- [How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=california-bay-laurel): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=california-bay-laurel): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=california-bay-laurel&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=california-bay-laurel): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=california-bay-laurel): the planting-window tool
- [When it flowers and fruits, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=california-bay-laurel): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=california-bay-laurel): the seed sowing planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=california-bay-laurel): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=california-bay-laurel): the tree age calculator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=california-bay-laurel): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Peachleaf Willow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/peachleaf-willow/index.html.md) (*Salix amygdaloides*): medium tree, 35 to 60 feet, zones 2 to 8. Shares floodplain forests and stream banks in the wild.
- [Chokecherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/chokecherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus virginiana*): small tree, 20 to 30 feet, zones 2 to 10. Shares stream banks and rocky ground in the wild.
- [More natives for this ground in the tree finder](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md?size=large-tree&sun=full&moisture=average)
- [Every companion of California bay laurel in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=california-bay-laurel)

## Read from

Its figures come from Silvics of North America, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Cal Poly's SelecTree, the Wildflower Center, Calscape, the Jepson eFlora, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources and NC State Extension.