Camphor Laurel
NOXIOUS WEED: Class 4
Cinnamomum camphora
family: LAURACEAE
Description
- Large spreading evergreen tree to 20m from China and Japan; bark is grey-brown with deep vertical cracks. Poisonous.
- Leaves are light green and glossy with a wavy margin and yellow mid-rib; the lower surface is dull green. They smell strongly of camphor when crushed. Twigs are often red.
- Masses of small white insignificant flowers occur in spring.
- Fruit is a 10 mm black berry ripening in autumn and early winter.
Dispersal
Spread by birds and possums deep into bushland.
Impact on Bushland
Invades moist bushland slopes and gullies, creating dense shade, competing with and taking over from native species, and continuing to inhibit their regeneration even after its removal.
Distribution
Lower Blue Mountains.
Alternative Planting
Native Plants
Water Gum (Tristaniopsis laurina) to 15m
Lillypilly (Acmena smithii) to 10m
Cedar Wattle (Acacia elata) 10m+
Buckinghamia (Buckinghamia celsissima) 8m
Exotic alternatives:
Cape Chestnut (Calodendron capense) to 10m
Control
Removal permitted under Tree Preservation Order if less than 10m.
A difficult tree to control: should be treated by tree injection, but may reshoot and also sucker.
Hand pull seedlings from moist soil.
Be prepared for considerable follow-up work.
If removing these trees from waterways or very steep land, advice must be sought from BMCC Environmental Management Section.
Camphor Laurel is a Class 4 Noxious Weed.
Characteristics
Class 4 noxious weeds are plants that pose a threat to primary production, the
environment or human health, are widely distributed in an area to which the order
applies and are likely to spread in the area or to another area.
Control objective
Minimise the negative impact of those plants on the economy, community or environment of NSW.
Control action
The growth and spread of the plant must be controlled according to the measures
specified in a management plan published by the local control authority, and the plant
may not be sold, propagated or knowingly distributed.
— NSW Noxious Weeds Act of 1993
Camphor Laurel was once widely planted for shade in streets and paddocks. It now invades sensitive bushland and gullies, inhibiting the growth of native species, and causing stream-bank erosion.
Camphor Laurel flowers are very numerous, white, tiny, and clustered. They appear in spring and summer.
Glossy green Camphor Laurel leaves have a long tapered tip, and smell strongly of camphor when crushed.
