Umbellularia
Encyclopedia
Umbellularia californica is a large tree
native to coastal forests of California
and slightly extended into Oregon
.
It is the sole species in the genus Umbellularia.
Its pungent leaves have a similar flavor to bay leaves
(though stronger), and it may be mistaken for Bay Laurel
.
, this tree is known as Oregon Myrtle, while in California
it is called California Bay Laurel, which may be shortened to California Bay or California Laurel. It has also been called Pepperwood, Spicebush, Cinnamon Bush, Peppernut Tree and Headache Tree.
This hardwood tree is endemic to the California Floristic Province
. The dry wood has a color range from blonde (like maple) to brown (like walnut). Myrtlewood is considered a world-class tonewood
and is sought after by luthiers and woodworkers from around the world.
, California mixed woods
, Yellow Pine Forest, and oak woodlands
. Bays occur in oak woodlands only close to the coast or in extreme northern California where it is moister.
During the Miocene, oak-laurel forests were found in Central and Southern California
Laurel forest
. Typical tree species included oaks ancestral to present-day California oaks, as well as an assemblage of trees from the Laurel family, including Nectandra
, Ocotea
, Persea
, and Umbellularia
. Only one native species from the Laurel family, Umbellularia californica, remains in California today.
on the coast, extending from there south through California
to San Diego County
. It is also found in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It occurs at altitudes from sea level up to 1600 m.
tree growing to 30 m tall (exceptionally 45 m) with a trunk up to 80 cm thick.
The fragrant leaves
are smooth-edged and lens shaped, 3–10 cm long and 1.5–3 cm broad, similar to the related Bay Laurel
though usually narrower, and without the crinkled margin of that species.
The flower
s are small, yellow or yellowish-green, produced in a small umbel
(hence the scientific name Umbellularia, "little umbel").
The fruit
, also known as "California Bay nut", is a round and green berry
2–2.5 cm long and 2 cm broad, lightly spotted with yellow, maturing purple. Under the thin, leathery skin, it consists of an oily, fleshy covering over a single hard, thin-shelled pit, and resembles a miniature avocado
. Genus Umbellularia is in fact closely related to the avocado's genus Persea
, within the Lauraceae
family. The fruit ripens around October–November in the native range.
The California Bay is the primary foliar host for Sudden Oak Death
(SOD).
, Chumash, Pomo, Miwok
, Yuki
, Coos
and Salinan
people.
The leaf has been used as a cure for headache, toothache, and earache—though the volatile oils in the leaves may also cause headaches. Poultices of Umbellularia leaves were used to treat rheumatism and neuralgias. Laurel leaf tea was made to treat stomach aches, colds, sore throats, and to clear up mucus in the lungs. The leaves were steeped in hot water to make an infusion that was used to wash sores. The Pomo and Yuki tribes of Mendocino County treated headaches by placing a single leaf in the nostril or bathing the head with a laurel leaf infusion.
The chemical responsible for the headache-inducing effects of Umbellularia is known as Umbellulone
.
Both the flesh and the inner kernel of the fruit have been used as food by Native Americans. The fatty outer flesh of the fruit, or mesocarp, is palatable raw for only a brief time when ripe; prior to this the volatile aromatic oils are too strong, and afterwards the flesh quickly becomes bruised, like that of an overripe avocado. Native Americans dried the fruits in the sun and ate only the lower third of the dried mesocarp, which is less pungent.
The hard inner seed underneath the fleshy mesocarp, like the pit of an avocado, cleaves readily in two when its thin shell is cracked. The pit itself was traditionally roasted to a dark chocolate-brown color, removing much of the pungency and leaving a spicy flavor. Roasted, shelled "bay nuts" were eaten whole, or ground into powder and prepared as a drink which resembles unsweetened chocolate
. The flavor, depending on roast level, has been described variously as "roast coffee
," "dark chocolate
" or "burnt popcorn
". The powder might also be pressed into cakes and dried for winter storage, or used in cooking. It has been speculated that the nuts of U. californica contain a stimulant; however this possible effect has been little documented by biologists.
sold in groceries, and should be used in smaller quantity. Umbellularia leaf imparts a somewhat stronger camphor
/cinnamon
flavor compared to the Mediterranean Bay. The two Bay trees are related within the Laurel
family, along with the Cinnamons
.
Some modern-day foragers
and wild food enthusiasts have revived Native American practices regarding the edible roasted fruit, the bay nut.
U. californica is also used in woodworking. It is considered a tonewood
, used to construct the back and sides of acoustic guitars. The wood is very hard and fine, and is also made into bowls, spoons, and other small items and sold as "myrtlewood".
U. californica is also grown as an ornamental tree, both in its native area, and elsewhere further north up the Pacific coast to Vancouver in Canada
, and in western Europe
. It is occasionally used for firewood.
One popular use for the leaves is to put them between the bed mattresses to get rid of, or prevent flea infestations.
-- the First National—was forced to temporarily close its doors, precipitating a cash-flow crisis for the City of North Bend. The city solved this problem by minting currency using myrtlewood discs printed on a newspaper press. These coins, in denominations from 25 cents to $10, were used to make payroll and the city promised to redeem them for cash as soon as it became available.
However, when the bank reopened and the city appealed for people to bring their myrtlewood money in to redeem it, many opted to keep their tokens as collector's items. After several appeals, the city gave up and announced that the tokens would remain legal tender in the city of North Bend in perpetuity. Until the 1960s, people occasionally did cash in their tokens, but the remaining pieces have become very valuable through scarcity and historical interest. Fewer than 10 full sets are believed to exist.
and often reside in forests with Tanoak
s, which are also vulnerable to the disease.
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
native to coastal forests of California
California native plants
California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century...
and slightly extended into Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
It is the sole species in the genus Umbellularia.
Its pungent leaves have a similar flavor to bay leaves
Bay leaf
Bay leaf refers to the aromatic leaf of the bay laurel . Fresh or dried bay leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavor and fragrance. The leaves are often used to flavor soups, stews, braises and pâtés in Mediterranean cuisine...
(though stronger), and it may be mistaken for Bay Laurel
Bay Laurel
The bay laurel , also known as sweet bay, bay tree, true laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel tree, or simply laurel, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glossy leaves, native to the Mediterranean region. It is the source of the bay leaf used in cooking...
.
Nomenclature
In OregonOregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, this tree is known as Oregon Myrtle, while in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
it is called California Bay Laurel, which may be shortened to California Bay or California Laurel. It has also been called Pepperwood, Spicebush, Cinnamon Bush, Peppernut Tree and Headache Tree.
This hardwood tree is endemic to the California Floristic Province
California Floristic Province
The California Floristic Province is a floristic province with a Mediterranean climate located on the Pacific Coast of North America with a distinctive flora that bears similarities to floras found in other regions experiencing a winter rainfall, summer drought climate like the Mediterranean...
. The dry wood has a color range from blonde (like maple) to brown (like walnut). Myrtlewood is considered a world-class tonewood
Tonewood
Tonewood generally refers to any wood which may be used in the construction of a musical instrument. Many acoustic properties are often assigned to specific wood species; however the description of these properties is itself a large subject and beyond the scope of this article...
and is sought after by luthiers and woodworkers from around the world.
Habitat
This tree mostly inhabits Redwood forestsRedwood
-Trees:Conifers* Family Cupressaceae *** Sequoia sempervirens - coast redwood**** Albino redwood*** Sequoiadendron giganteum - giant sequoia*** Metasequoia glyptostroboides - dawn redwood* Family Pinaceae...
, California mixed woods
California mixed evergreen forest
California mixed evergreen forest is an ecoregion, of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, that occurs in the Pacific Coast Ranges of southwestern Oregon and California, and in the Coast, Transverse, and Peninsular Ranges in California...
, Yellow Pine Forest, and oak woodlands
California oak woodland
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico...
. Bays occur in oak woodlands only close to the coast or in extreme northern California where it is moister.
During the Miocene, oak-laurel forests were found in Central and Southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Laurel forest
Laurel forest
Laurel forest is a subtropical or mild temperate forest, found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. They are characterized by tree species with evergreen, glossy, enlongated leaves, known as laurophyll or lauroide...
. Typical tree species included oaks ancestral to present-day California oaks, as well as an assemblage of trees from the Laurel family, including Nectandra
Nectandra
Nectandra is a genus of plant in family Lauraceae.-Overview:Plants from this genus have been used in the treatment of several clinical disorders in humans. It has been demonstrated that Nectandra plants have potential analgesic, antiinflammatory, febrifuge, energetic and hypotensive activities...
, Ocotea
Ocotea
Ocotea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. The genus includes over 200 species of evergreen trees and shrubs, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America, the West Indies, also with a few species in Africa and Madagascar, and...
, Persea
Persea
Persea is a genus of about 150 species of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The best-known member of the genus is the avocado, P. americana, widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large, edible fruit.-Overview:...
, and Umbellularia
Umbellularia
Umbellularia californica is a large tree native to coastal forests of California and slightly extended into Oregon.It is the sole species in the genus Umbellularia....
. Only one native species from the Laurel family, Umbellularia californica, remains in California today.
Distribution
In the north, it reaches its distributional limit near Coos Bay Douglas County, OregonDouglas County, Oregon
-National protected areas:* Crater Lake National Park * Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest * Siuslaw National Forest * Umpqua National Forest * Willamette National Forest -Adjacent counties:* Lane County, Oregon -...
on the coast, extending from there south through California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to San Diego County
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
. It is also found in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It occurs at altitudes from sea level up to 1600 m.
Description
It is an evergreenEvergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
tree growing to 30 m tall (exceptionally 45 m) with a trunk up to 80 cm thick.
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are smooth-edged and lens shaped, 3–10 cm long and 1.5–3 cm broad, similar to the related Bay Laurel
Bay Laurel
The bay laurel , also known as sweet bay, bay tree, true laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel tree, or simply laurel, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glossy leaves, native to the Mediterranean region. It is the source of the bay leaf used in cooking...
though usually narrower, and without the crinkled margin of that species.
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are small, yellow or yellowish-green, produced in a small umbel
Umbel
An umbel is an inflorescence which consists of a number of short flower stalks which are equal in length and spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs....
(hence the scientific name Umbellularia, "little umbel").
The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, also known as "California Bay nut", is a round and green berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
2–2.5 cm long and 2 cm broad, lightly spotted with yellow, maturing purple. Under the thin, leathery skin, it consists of an oily, fleshy covering over a single hard, thin-shelled pit, and resembles a miniature avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
. Genus Umbellularia is in fact closely related to the avocado's genus Persea
Persea
Persea is a genus of about 150 species of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The best-known member of the genus is the avocado, P. americana, widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large, edible fruit.-Overview:...
, within the Lauraceae
Lauraceae
The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
family. The fruit ripens around October–November in the native range.
The California Bay is the primary foliar host for Sudden Oak Death
Sudden oak death
Sudden Oak Death is the common name of a disease caused by the oomycete plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. The disease kills oak and other species of tree and has had devastating effects on the oak populations in California and Oregon as well as also being present in Europe...
(SOD).
Historical usage
Umbellularia has long been valued for its many uses by Native Americans throughout the tree's range, including the CahuillaCahuilla
The Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
, Chumash, Pomo, Miwok
Miwok
Miwok can refer to any one of four linguistically related groups of Native Americans, native to Northern California, who spoke one of the Miwokan languages in the Utian family...
, Yuki
Yuki tribe
The Yuki are a Native American people from the zone of Round Valley, in what today is part of the territory of Mendocino County, Northern California. Yuki tribes are thought to have settled as far south as Hood Mountain in present-day Sonoma County...
, Coos
Coos (tribe)
The Coos are a Native American tribe from the U.S. state of Oregon and one of the three Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. They live on the southwest Oregon Pacific coast...
and Salinan
Salinan
The Salinan Native Americans lived in what is now the Central Coast of California, in the Salinas Valley. Said to have gone extinct by the Census of 1930, the Salinan Native Americans survived and are now in the process of applying for tribal recognition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.There...
people.
The leaf has been used as a cure for headache, toothache, and earache—though the volatile oils in the leaves may also cause headaches. Poultices of Umbellularia leaves were used to treat rheumatism and neuralgias. Laurel leaf tea was made to treat stomach aches, colds, sore throats, and to clear up mucus in the lungs. The leaves were steeped in hot water to make an infusion that was used to wash sores. The Pomo and Yuki tribes of Mendocino County treated headaches by placing a single leaf in the nostril or bathing the head with a laurel leaf infusion.
The chemical responsible for the headache-inducing effects of Umbellularia is known as Umbellulone
Umbellulone
Umbellulone is a headache-inducing monoterpene ketone found in the leaves of the tree Umbellularia californica, sometimes known as the "headache tree". It is hypothesized to cause headaches by influencing the trigeminovascular system via TRPA1....
.
Both the flesh and the inner kernel of the fruit have been used as food by Native Americans. The fatty outer flesh of the fruit, or mesocarp, is palatable raw for only a brief time when ripe; prior to this the volatile aromatic oils are too strong, and afterwards the flesh quickly becomes bruised, like that of an overripe avocado. Native Americans dried the fruits in the sun and ate only the lower third of the dried mesocarp, which is less pungent.
The hard inner seed underneath the fleshy mesocarp, like the pit of an avocado, cleaves readily in two when its thin shell is cracked. The pit itself was traditionally roasted to a dark chocolate-brown color, removing much of the pungency and leaving a spicy flavor. Roasted, shelled "bay nuts" were eaten whole, or ground into powder and prepared as a drink which resembles unsweetened chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
. The flavor, depending on roast level, has been described variously as "roast coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
," "dark chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
" or "burnt popcorn
Popcorn
Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
". The powder might also be pressed into cakes and dried for winter storage, or used in cooking. It has been speculated that the nuts of U. californica contain a stimulant; however this possible effect has been little documented by biologists.
Modern usage
The leaf can be used in cooking, but is spicier and "headier" than the Mediterranean bay leafBay leaf
Bay leaf refers to the aromatic leaf of the bay laurel . Fresh or dried bay leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavor and fragrance. The leaves are often used to flavor soups, stews, braises and pâtés in Mediterranean cuisine...
sold in groceries, and should be used in smaller quantity. Umbellularia leaf imparts a somewhat stronger camphor
Camphor
Camphor is a waxy, white or transparent solid with a strong, aromatic odor. It is a terpenoid with the chemical formula C10H16O. It is found in wood of the camphor laurel , a large evergreen tree found in Asia and also of Dryobalanops aromatica, a giant of the Bornean forests...
/cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
flavor compared to the Mediterranean Bay. The two Bay trees are related within the Laurel
Lauraceae
The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...
family, along with the Cinnamons
Cinnamomum
Cinnamomum is a genus of evergreen aromatic trees and shrubs belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. The species of Cinnamomum have aromatic oils in their leaves and bark. The genus contains over 300 species, distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of North America, Central America,...
.
Some modern-day foragers
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
and wild food enthusiasts have revived Native American practices regarding the edible roasted fruit, the bay nut.
U. californica is also used in woodworking. It is considered a tonewood
Tonewood
Tonewood generally refers to any wood which may be used in the construction of a musical instrument. Many acoustic properties are often assigned to specific wood species; however the description of these properties is itself a large subject and beyond the scope of this article...
, used to construct the back and sides of acoustic guitars. The wood is very hard and fine, and is also made into bowls, spoons, and other small items and sold as "myrtlewood".
U. californica is also grown as an ornamental tree, both in its native area, and elsewhere further north up the Pacific coast to Vancouver in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and in western Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It is occasionally used for firewood.
One popular use for the leaves is to put them between the bed mattresses to get rid of, or prevent flea infestations.
"Myrtlewood" money
"Myrtlewood" is the only wood still in use as a base "metal" for legal tender. During the "interregnum of despair" between Franklin Roosevelt's election and his inauguration, the only bank in the town of North Bend, OregonNorth Bend, Oregon
North Bend is a city in Coos County, Oregon, in the United States with a population of 9,695 as of the 2010 census. North Bend is surrounded on three sides by Coos Bay, an S-shaped water inlet and estuary where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean, and borders the city of Coos Bay,...
-- the First National—was forced to temporarily close its doors, precipitating a cash-flow crisis for the City of North Bend. The city solved this problem by minting currency using myrtlewood discs printed on a newspaper press. These coins, in denominations from 25 cents to $10, were used to make payroll and the city promised to redeem them for cash as soon as it became available.
However, when the bank reopened and the city appealed for people to bring their myrtlewood money in to redeem it, many opted to keep their tokens as collector's items. After several appeals, the city gave up and announced that the tokens would remain legal tender in the city of North Bend in perpetuity. Until the 1960s, people occasionally did cash in their tokens, but the remaining pieces have become very valuable through scarcity and historical interest. Fewer than 10 full sets are believed to exist.
Pathology
California Bay Laurel is an important host of Sudden oak deathSudden oak death
Sudden Oak Death is the common name of a disease caused by the oomycete plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. The disease kills oak and other species of tree and has had devastating effects on the oak populations in California and Oregon as well as also being present in Europe...
and often reside in forests with Tanoak
Tanoak
Tanoak, formerly known taxonomically as Lithocarpus densiflorus, was recently moved into a new genus, Notholithocarpus, based on multiple lines of evidence....
s, which are also vulnerable to the disease.
External links
- MeSH: Umbellularia - Umbellularia californica (California Bay Laurel)
- http://www.offbeatoregon.com/H1008e_north-bend-myrtlewood-money-still-legal-tender.html