Landscape Uses:
	Accent or specimen tree in residential and commerical landscapes.
Ecological Restoration Notes:
	A rather uncommon element of mesic coastal hammocks, rarer inland.
Availability:
	Cultivated by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida.
Description:
	Medium or large tree with a round-topped to cylindrical and dense crown from a few stout, thick branches. Trunk 1-3 feet in diameter, often leaning. Bark brown, thick, roughened by many furrows and ridges. Leaves dark green above, waxy beneath, 3-5 inches long, aromatic when crushed, often contorted by galls.
Height:
	Typically 20-40 feet in height in South Florida; to 77 feet in Florida. Sometimes as broad as tall or broader.
Growth Rate:
	Moderate.
Range:
	Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to Miami-Dade and Collier counties. Reported for the Monroe County Keys, but this perhaps represents a misidentification of P. palustris.
Habitats:
	Primarily coastal hammocks but sometimes inland.
Soils:
	Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements:
	Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance:
	Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance:
	Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance:
	High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements:
	Full sun to light shade.
Flower Color:
	Whitish or greenish.
Flower Characteristics:
	Inconspicuous.
Flowering Season:
	Spring.
Fruit:
	Dark blue to nearly black shiny drupe, 1/2" long. Late summer to fall.
Wildlife and Ecology:
	Provides significant food and cover for wildlife. Larval host plant for palamedes swallowtail (Pterourus palamedes) and spicebush swallowtail (Pterourus troilus) butterflies.
Comments:
	This handscome tree looks very similar to Virginia live oak (Quercus virginiana). Plants sold in the nursery trade as this species are often swamp bay (Persea palustris), a species that requires much wetter soils. The dried leaves can be used as a substitute for commercial bay leaves.