Lauraceae

Lauraceae
Temporal range: Turonian - recent[1] Possible Cenomanian record
Litsea glutinosa
illustration from Flora de Filipinas, 1880-1883, by Francisco Manuel Blanco
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Magnoliids
Order: Laurales
Family: Lauraceae
Juss.[2]
Genera

Many; see § Genera

Cassytha filiformis
Leaves of Cinnamomum tamala - (malabathrum or tejpat)
Lindera triloba leaves

Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide.[3] They are dicotyledons, and occur mainly in warm temperate and tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America. Many are aromatic evergreen trees or shrubs, but some, such as Sassafras, are deciduous, or include both deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, especially in tropical and temperate climates. The genus Cassytha is unique in the Lauraceae in that its members are parasitic vines. Most laurels are highly poisonous.

  1. ^ "Laurales". www.mobot.org. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  2. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. hdl:10654/18083.
  3. ^ Christenhusz, Maarten J.M.; Byng, James W. (20 May 2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3): 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.