|
Malosma laurina (Laurel Sumac) - A large, rounded evergreen shrub growing to 10-15 feet tall or more by as wide. The aromatic leaves are simple, alternate, somewhat leathery and folded along the midrib to form a trough. The foliage is glabrous and aromatic with reddish leaf veins, petioles and stems. The leaf blades are up to 4" long and the petioles are about 1-1/4 inch long. The small white flowers bloom in the summer are fragrant and develop into white fruits, which are attractive to birds.
Plant in full sun in a well-draining soil and give infrequent to no irrigation. It is susceptible to frost and will sometimes drop its leaves when the temperature drop below 25° F, so is often planted by citrus growers as a frost indicator. Is a great large native screening plant.
Malosma laurina, previously known as Rhus laurina, is commonly found on dry ridges and canyons below 3000 feet in chaparral and coastal sage scrub in California The origin of the name Malosma comes from Latin for odor which resembles that of an apple and the specific epithet laurina is for laurel-like leaves. We grew this plant from 1985 until 2005.
The information about Malosma laurina that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.
|
