Camphor Laurel

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Camphor Laurel

An ancient camphor tree, estimated to be over 1000 years old, in Japan

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Laurales
Family:	Lauraceae
Genus:	Cinnamomum
Species:	C. camphora

Binomial name

Cinnamomum camphora
(L.) Sieb.

Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) is a large evergreen tree that grows up to 20-30 metres tall. The leaves have a glossy, waxy appearance and smell of camphor when crushed by hand. In spring it produces bright green foliage with masses of small white flowers. It produces clusters of black berry-like fruit around one centimetre in diameter.

Camphor Laurels have very stout trunks. They also have somewhat pale bark that is very rough and fissured vertically.

Camphor Laurel is native to Taiwan, southern Japan, southeast China and Indochina, where it is also cultivated for camphor and timber production. The production and shipment of camphor, in a solid, waxy form, was a major industry in Taiwan prior to and during the Japanese colonial era (1895-1945). It was used medicinally and was also an important ingredient in the production of smokeless gunpowder and celluloid. Primitive stills were set up in the mountainous areas in which the tree is usually found. The wood was chipped; these chips were steamed in a retort, allowing the camphor to crystallize on the inside of a crystallization box, after the vapour had passed through a cooling chamber. It was then scraped off and packed out to government-run factories for processing and sale. Camphor was one of the most lucrative of several important government monopolies under the Japanese.

[edit] Camphor Laurel as an invasive species in Australia

illustration

Camphor Laurel was introduced to Australia in 1822 as an ornamental tree for use in gardens and public parks. It has however become a weed throughout Queensland and northern New South Wales where it is suited to the wet, subtropical climate.

It has been declared a noxious weed for the entire states of Queensland and New South Wales. Its massive and spreading root systems disrupt urban drainage and sewerage systems and degrade river banks. Its leaves have a very high carbon content, which damages water quality and freshwater fish habitats when they fall into streams and rivers. The camphor content of the leaf litter helps prevent other plants from germinating successfully, helping to ensure the camphor's success against any potentially competing vegetation, and the seeds are attractive to birds and pass intact through the digestive system, ensuring rapid distribution. Camphor laurel invades pastures, and also competes against eucalyptus trees which are the sole food source of koalas, which are endangered in many parts of eastern Australia.