Adelaide Botanic Garden: Camphor Laurel

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This Camphor Laurel Cinnamomum camphora is a very large multiple trunked specimen and is an outstanding tree in both size and appearance.

It belongs to the Laurel family which includes the Bay Tree Laurus nobilis and is native to China , Japan , Korea and Vietnam. It has been introduced into many countries as an ornamental. Camphor Laurel is a large evergreen growing tree reaching about 20 metres high with bright green leaves which, when crushed, release a pungent camphor smell. The small flowers are white and are followed by small black berries. Camphor is an essential oil produced by a distillation process from the wood. The oil has been used for centuries as a component of incense and is used in medicine and cooking.

The planting date of this tree is unknown but it appears in a photograph from between 1896 and 1910. It is also listed in the Bailey Catalogue of 1925-1926, which dates it from the 1860s. The tree is considered of state significance.