''Camphora'' is a genus of

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

plants belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus contains approximately 20 species, distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. This genus was previously considered a synonym of ''

Cinnamomum ''Cinnamomum'' is a genus of evergreen aromatic trees and shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The species of ''Cinnamomum'' have aromatic oils in their leaves and bark. The genus contains approximately 250 species, distributed in ...

''.

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Description

Species of ''Camphora'' are evergreen trees or shrubs. Their leaves are alternate and pinnately veined or weakly tripliveined, which differed from the opposite or subopposite and tripliveined leaves of ''Cinnamomum'' species. The

tepals A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

do not persistent when fruiting, while ''Cinnamomum'' species' persistent or at least partially persistent. Species have paniculate

inflorescences An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

with cymes bearing strictly opposite lateral flowers. Flowers are bisexual with nine fertile

stamens The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

, plus three staminodes with conspicuous

cordate Cordate is an adjective meaning ' heart-shaped' and is most typically used for: * Cordate (leaf shape) The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a ...

or sagittate heads in the fourth androecial whorl. The fruits are cupulate.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

The genus ''Camphora'' was introduced in 1759 by the German botanist

Philipp Conrad Fabricius Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German language, German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adol ...

. It was listed under synonymy for ''

'' s.l. for a long time. And species were classified in the Sect. ''Camphora'' of ''Cinnamomum''. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2022 found that the large genus ''Cinnamomum'' was

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...

. In the revised classification to create monophyletic genera, the following 18 species are placed in the resurrected genus ''Camphora'': *'' Camphora bodinieri'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum bodinieri'' *'' Camphora brachythyrsa'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum brachythyrsum'' *'' Camphora chartophylla'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum chartophyllum'' *'' Camphora foveolata'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum foveolatum'' *'' Camphora glandulifera'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum glanduliferum'' *'' Camphora illicioides'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum ilicioides'' *'' Camphora longepaniculata'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum longepaniculatum'' *'' Camphora micrantha'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum micranthum'' *'' Camphora migao'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum migao'' *'' Camphora mollifolia'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum mollifolium'' *'' Camphora officinarum'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum camphora'' – camphor laurel *'' Camphora parthenoxylon'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum parthenoxylon'' – Selasian wood, Martaban camphor wood, saffrol laurel *''

Camphora philippinensis Camphora may refer to: * Camphora, a synonym for the chemical compound camphor * Camphora, California, an unincorporated community in Monterey County * Camphora (plant), genus of evergreen trees **Particularly '' Camphora officinarum'' See also ...

'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum philippinense'' *''

Camphora platyphylla Camphora may refer to: * Camphora, a synonym for the chemical compound camphor * Camphora, California Camphora (formerly, Camp Four) is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located on U.S. Route 101 and the Southern ...

'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum platyphyllum'' *'' Camphora purpurea'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum purpureum'' *'' Camphora rufotomentosa'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum rufomentosum'' *'' Camphora septentrionalis'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum septentrionale'' *'' Camphora tenuipilis'' ≡ ''Cinnamomum tenuipile'' The following species are classified in the Sect. ''Camphora'' of ''Cinnamomum'' s.l., while the new combinations have not yet been published: * '' Cinnamomum kanehirae'' * '' Cinnamomum longipetiolatum'' * '' Cinnamomum saxatile'' Its relationship with closely related taxa is shown below:

References

Lauraceae genera * {{Laurales-stub