Persea humilis

scrub bay

Lauraceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

To 20 ft tall by To 10 ft wide

Life Span:

long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

black

Phenology:

Evergreen. Blooms in late spring.

Noted For:

Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Nice specimen plant. Slow growing.

Considerations:

This small tree appears to less likely to be killed by laurel wilt than Florida's other bays.. It is likely that it is too small to attract the beetle that spreads the disease.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Short very dry periods ---- to ---- Very long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Caterpillars, Birds

Larval host plant for palamedes swallowtail ( Papilio palamedes) and spicebush swallowtail ( Papilio troilus) butterflies.





Attracts bees including   Colletes brimleyi, C. nudus, Augochlora pura, Augochlorella aurata, Augochloropsis metallica and Anthidiellum perplexum (Deyrup et al. 2002)

Fruits eaten and dispersed by birds.

Native Habitats:

Dry sites. Scrub, high pine, scrubby sandhill.