Photo by John Ruter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org


Photo by Mary Keim


Photo by Mary Keim

Height: 6 to 60 feet, depending on species
Spread: 3 to 20 feet, depending on species

LANDSCAPE USE
Works well as a background shrub or tree in naturalistic settings. Also serves to conceal retention ponds, drainage swales, and canal banks.

FORM
Two closely related species and one variety are recognized in Florida. Red Bay (P. borbonia) is a shrubby to erect, dark-trunked evergreen tree mostly of dry sandy hammocks and coastal dune­ scrub, but it also occasionally occurs in mesic hammocks. Its leaves are shiny green above and somewhat grayish below. Swamp Bay (P. palustris) is similar to Red Bay in form but generally occurs in swamps, bayheads, and wet flatwoods. Its leaves are duller above and not whitish below. Silk Bay (P. borbonia var. humilis) is normally a shrub with coppery to brownish to grayish lower leaf surfaces and occurs in Central and South Florida’s Sand Pine-Oak Scrub region.

NATIVE RANGE
Red and Swamp Bays range from about Delaware, south­ward to southern peninsular Florida, and west to eastern Texas. Silk Bay occurs in central peninsular Florida and has also been reported (though with some disagreement) for eastern Texas.

CHARACTERISTICS
Flowers: Tiny, inconspicuous, borne in greenish yellow clusters. Spring and early summer.
Leaves: Alternate, lance shaped, green above, paler below, depending upon species.
Fruit: A dark blue to blackish, ellipsoid drupe about a half-inch long. Fall.
Bark: Dark brown (to blackish in Silk Bay) and fissured.

CULTURE
Soil: Red and Silk Bays prefer well-drained, xeric soils. Swamp Bay prefers moist to wet acid soils.
Exposure: Full sun to part shade.
Water: Supplemental irrigation not required for Red and Silk Bays. Swamp Bay performs best in moist to wet situations.
Hardiness Zones: 7-10.
Life Span: Tall, handsome Red Bays with 3-foot-diameter trunks and ages in excess of 100 years are sometimes encountered in mesic uplands. Under most conditions, plants in excess of 50 years are considered old.

BEST FEATURES including WILDLIFE SUPPORT
The evergreen habit and tolerance of harsh situations com­mend these species. Fruits eaten by numerous songbirds as well as by turkey and quail. Fruit and leaves browsed by deer. Redbay is a larval host for the Palamedes and Spicebush Swallowtail butterflies.

COMPANION PLANTS
For Red Bay, think Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus), Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum), American Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus). For Swamp Bay: Blue Beech (Carpinus caroliniana), Sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana), Tupelos (Nyssa spp.), Cypresses (Taxodium spp.), Fevertree (Pinckneya bracteata), Swamp Dogwood (Cornus foemina), Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia), Titi (Cyrilla racemiflora), Fetterbushes and Dog-hobbles (Lyonia spp. and Leucothoe spp.).

DISADVANTAGES
All species are subject to large, numerous, and conspicuous leaf galls.

SIMILAR AND RELATED SPECIES
Several other members of the Laurel family occur in Florida, induding Sweetwood (Licaria triandra), Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), Pondspice (Litsea aestivalis), Lancewood (Ocotea coriacea), and Sassafras (Sassafras albidum).