Myrtle Tree Information

Images of Myrtle:


Myrtle grows in the following 2 states and provinces:

California, Oregon

Information about Myrtle:


More information about Myrtle may be found here.

The Umbellularia Californica is commonly known as the Bay, Bay Laurel, Baytree, Black Myrtle, California Bay, California Laurel, Cinnamon Bush, Coos Bay Laurel, Laurel, Mountain Laurel, Myrtle, Myrtletree, Myrtlewood, Oregon Myrtle, Pacific Myrtle, Pepperwood, Spice-tree, White Myrtle as well as Yellow Myrtle.

The currently accepted scientific name of California bay is Umbellularia californica (Hook. & Arn.) Nutt. . Recognized varieties and forms are as follows : U. californica var. californica U. californica var. fresnensis Eastwood U. californica f. pendula Rehd.

California bay occurs in the Klamath, Siskiyou, and Coast Ranges from Douglas County, Oregon south to San Diego County, California, and on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada from Shasta County south to Kern County. It is found along drainages in the Central Valley, California . Umbellularia californica var. fresnensis occurs in Fresno County, California .

California bay is sometimes codominant or dominant in various hardwood forests. Pure stands are rare, but there are a few California bay forests in the Coast Ranges and in Tehema County, California . The tree also occurs in various coniferous forests, where it is a codominant or dominant in the subcanopy or is an understory associate. Published classifications listing California bay as codominant or dominant in community types (cts), ecoassociation types (eco), plant associations (pas), or vegetation types (vts) are as follows: AREA CLASSIFICATION AUTHORITY CA: outer Coast Ranges Ca. bay forest cts Holland 1986 CA: Coast Ranges Ca. hardwoods eco Allen & others 1991 nCA: Klamath; N.Coast Ranges cismontane woodland cts Holland 1986 nCA: Muir Woods NM redwood forest vts McBride & Jacobs 1980 sCA: S.Coast Ranges riparian pas Paysen & others 1980 sCA: Santa Ana Mts. canyon woodlands cts Vogl 1976 swOR: Siskiyou NF mixed evergreen cts Sawyer & others 1977 swOR: Siskiyou; Klamath tanoak-Ca. laurel pas Atzet & Wheeler 1984 Ranges

Some of the information provided here is attributed to:Howard, Janet L. 1992. Umbellularia californica. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). , available at the USDA Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) website