''Ocotea'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s belonging to the family

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ). They are dicotyledons, and occur ma ...

. Many are evergreen trees with

lauroid This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (around 300 species) including the Caribbean and West Indies, but also with some species in Africa,

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and the

Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...

. One species (''O. foetens'') is native to the

Macaronesia Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of List of islands in the At ...

(in

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

and

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

). The genus is suspected to be

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

Description

They are trees or shrubs, occasionally with

adventitious root Important structures in plant development are buds, shoots, roots, leaves, and flowers; plants produce these tissues and structures throughout their life from meristems located at the tips of organs, or between mature tissues. Thus, a living plant a ...

s (''O. hartshorniana'', ''O. insularis''). Leaves simple, alternate, rarely opposite or whorled. The leaves are

, they are commonly dark green glossy with sometimes brown on the underside and fragrant oil cells. The African and Madagascan species all have bisexual flowers (possessing both male and female parts), whereas many of the American species have flowers that are

unisexual Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

(either male or female). The apetalous flowers are in small panicles. The fruits are globose or oblong berries, 3–5 cm in length, hard and fleshy and at the junction of the peduncle part with the fruit covered by a cup-shaped, occasionally flat,

cupule A cupule is a small structure shaped like a cup, including: * In archeology, rock cupules are circular man-made hollows on the surface of a large rock or a rock slab ** On a smaller artifact they are called a cupstone. * In botany: the base of an ...

, giving them an appearance similar to an

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

. The fruit is dark green, gradually darkening with maturity. The cupule at the base of the berry, can be more brightly colored. The fruit has a single seed wrapped in a hard coat and can be slightly lignified.

Names

The genus has no standard common name. Names often refer to the aroma of the wood, which can be strong and not always pleasant. Sweetwood is usually applied only to this genus, although many names are also applied to this genus and other genera: * Stinkwood can refer to several unrelated trees that have bad-smelling wood. ''Ocotea bullata'' is called black stinkwood or true stinkwood, and ''Ocotea foetens'' is also called stinkwood. *

Camphorwood ''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel. Description ''Camphora officinarum'' is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern ...

is usually ''

Cinnamomum camphora ''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel. Description ''Camphora officinarum'' is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern ...

'' a close relative of ''Ocotea'' species. *

Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...

(Peruvian rosewood, '' O. cernua'') is normally ''

Dalbergia ''Dalbergia'' is a large genus of small to medium-size trees, shrubs and lianas in the pea family, Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. It was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Dalbergia'' clade (or tribe): the Dalbergieae. T ...

'' or related members of the family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

. The common names of some species refer to their similarity to other

such as ''

Sassafras ''Sassafras'' is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.Wolfe, Jack A. & Wehr, Wesley C. 1987. The sassafras is an ornamental tree. "Middle Eoc ...

'' (Brazilian sassafras: '' O. odorifera'') or ''

Laurus ''Laurus'' () is a genus of evergreen trees or shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus contains three or more species, including the bay laurel or sweet bay, ''L. nobilis'', widely cultivated as an ornamental plant and a cul ...

'' (Cape laurel: '' O. bullata'', Sword laurel: ''O. floribunda'', Guaika laurel: '' O. puberula'', etc.).

Distribution and habitat

Afromontane forest canopy - giant Black Stinkwood tree - SA

Most species of ''Ocotea'' are distributed across the tropical

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, from Mexico to Northern Argentina including the West Indies. Species are also found in eastern Africa from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

and

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

in Central Africa, and on

and the

. One species, ''

Ocotea foetens ''Ocotea foetens'', commonly called til or stinkwood is a species of tree in the family Lauraceae. It is evergreen and grows up to 40 m tall. It is a common constituent of the laurisilva forests of Madeira and the Canary Islands. Leaf fossils of ...

'', is native to the

and

in the North Atlantic."''Ocotea'' Aubl." Plants of the World Online, Kew Science. Accessed 28 April 2022

/ref> ''Ocotea'' species are distributed in subtropical and tropical regions, often at higher elevations. They are characteristic plants of many tropical and subtropical montane forests such as the

Araucaria moist forest The Araucaria moist forests, officially classified as mixed ombrophilous forest (Portuguese: "Floresta Ombrófila Mista") in Brazil, are a montane subtropical moist forest ecoregion. The forest ecosystem is located in southern Brazil and northeas ...

Yungas The Yungas (Aymara ''yunka'' warm or temperate Andes or earth, Quechua ''yunka'' warm area on the slopes of the Andes) is a bioregion of a narrow band of forest along the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains from Peru and Bolivia, and extends into ...

, and

Talamancan montane forests The Talamancan montane forests ecoregion, in the tropical moist broadleaf forest biome, are in montane Costa Rica and western Panama in Central America. Setting The Talamancan montane forests cover a discontinuous area of in Cordilleran mounta ...

in the Americas,

Afromontane The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions ...

forests including the Knysna-Amatole montane forests in Africa, and

Laurisilva Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of Subtropics, subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glo ...

in the

n islands. In Madagascar and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

they also occur in lowland forests.

Ecology

Most relatively small fruit species are of great environmental importance because they are the food of many endemic birds and mammals, especially in Islands, and premontane and montane forests. The leaves of ''Ocotea'' species are the food source for the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s of several species of endemic

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

, including several species of ''Memphis''. Some ''Memphis'' caterpillars feed solely on the leaves of one species of ''Ocotea''; for example ''M. mora'' feeds only on ''O. cernua'', and ''M. boisduvali'' feeds only on ''O. veraguensis'' Seed distribution of some ''Ocotea'' species is performed by

frugivorous A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance and ...

birds such as

toucan Toucans (, ) are members of the Neotropical near passerine bird family Ramphastidae. The Ramphastidae are most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five ge ...

s, the

three-wattled bellbird The three-wattled bellbird (''Procnias tricarunculatus'') is a Central American migratory bird of the cotinga family. The sexes are very dissimilar in appearance. The male has a white head and throat and the remaining plumage is chestnut brown. F ...

(family Cotingidae), quetzal and

Cape parrot The Cape parrot (''Poicephalus robustus'') or Levaillant's parrot is a large, temperate forest dwelling parrot of the genus ''Poicephalus'' endemic to South Africa. It was formerly grouped as a subspecies along with the savanna-dwelling brown-ne ...

. ''Ocotea'' fruit is also consumed by several

Columbiformes Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

such as '' Columba trocaz'',

Delegorgue's pigeon The eastern bronze-naped pigeon (''Columba delegorguei'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Angola, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is part of the ''Turt ...

, Bolle's pigeon ('' Columba bollii''), African wood pigeon, and American doves. Most of the African tree species are ancient

paleoendemic Paleoendemism along with neoendemism is a possible subcategory of endemism. Paleoendemism refers to species that were formerly widespread but are now restricted to a smaller area. Neoendemism refers to species that have recently arisen, such as thro ...

species, which in ancient times were widely distributed on the continent. This is not the case in the Americas: 89 species have been collected in Venezuela alone. Species of ''Ocotea'' can be attacked by various rot-inducing root pathogens, including ''Loweporus inflexibilis'', ''Phellinus apiahynus'' and ''

Phytophthora cinnamomi ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'' is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called "root rot", "dieback", or (in certain '' Castanea'' species), "ink disease". The plant pathogen is one of the wo ...

''. Some ''Ocotea'' species are used as nesting sites by ants, which may live in leaf pockets or in hollowed-out stems. The ants patrol their host plants more frequently in response to disturbance or to the appearance of insect pests such as grasshoppers.

Uses

''Ocotea'' produce

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

s, which are rich in

camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel ('' Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the k ...

and

safrole Safrole is an organic compound with the formula CH2O2C6H3CH2CH=CH2. It is a colorless oily liquid, although impure samples can appear yellow. A member of the phenylpropanoid family of natural products, it is found in sassafras plants, among oth ...

. East African camphorwood ('' O. usambarensis''), Peruvian rosewood ('' O. cernua'') and Brazilian sassafras ('' O. odorifera'') are traded internationally. Dried fruit cupules of ishpingo ('' O. quixos'') are used in Ecuador to flavor beverages, such as

colada morada Colada Morada is a drink that is part of Ecuador's gastronomic culture along with t'anta wawa. It is a purple and thick liquid that is prepared with typical fruits of Ecuador, spices and maize flour, corn flour. This drink is traditionally consum ...

. Some fast growing ''Ocotea'' tree species are harvested commercially for

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

. These include '' O. puberula'', '' O. bullata'' (black or true stinkwood) and '' O. usambarensis''. The timber is valued for its resistance to fungal decay. '' O. odorifera'' (Brazilian sassafras) and '' O. kuhlmanni'' are frequently used as

honey plant Honeybees usually collect nectar, pollen, or both from the following species of plants, which are called honey plants, for making honey. Acanthaceae (Acanthus family) *'' Avicennia nitida'' Jacq. or Avicennia ger ...

Selected species

The following are some of the species of ''Ocotea''. Distinguishing ''Ocotea'' species from ''

Nectandra ''Nectandra'' is a genus of plant in the family Lauraceae. They are primarily Neotropical, with '' Nectandra coriacea'' being the only species reaching the southernmost United States. They have fruit with various medical effects. Sweetwood is a c ...

'' and other close relatives is problematic. '' Povedadaphne'' may be better placed in ''Ocotea''. * '' Ocotea aciphylla'' * '' Ocotea acutifolia'' (

Nees Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck (14 February 1776 – 16 March 1858) was a prolific German botanist, physician, zoologist, and natural philosopher. He was a contemporary of Goethe and was born within the lifetime of Linnaeus. He d ...

) Mez * ''

Ocotea albida ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of ...

'' * ''

Ocotea albopunctulata ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of ...

'' * ''

Ocotea amazonica ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of ...

'' * '' Ocotea amplifolia'' * '' Ocotea arnottiana'' * '' Ocotea atirrensis'' * '' Ocotea bangii'' * '' Ocotea basicordatifolia'' * '' Ocotea benthamiana'' * '' Ocotea bofo'' * ''

Ocotea bullata ''Ocotea bullata'', (stinkwood or black stinkwood, af, Stinkhout, xh, Umhlungulu, zu, Umnukane) is a species of flowering tree native to South Africa. It produces very fine and valuable timber which was formerly much sought after to make fur ...

'' – black stinkwood, true stinkwood * '' Ocotea camphoromoea'' * '' Ocotea catharinensis'' * ''

Ocotea cernua ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of ...

'' – Peruvian rosewood * '' Ocotea clarkei'' * '' Ocotea corymbosa'' Mez * '' Ocotea cuneifolia'' * ''

Ocotea cymbarum ''Ocotea cymbarum'' is a species of ''Ocotea'' in the plant family Lauraceae. It is an evergreen tree found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. Medical uses The essential oils from ''Ocotea cymbarum'' are oft ...

'' (often included in ''O. odorifera'') * '' Ocotea diospyrifolia'' (

Meisn. Carl Daniel Friedrich Meissner (1 November 1800 – 2 May 1874) was a Swiss botanist. Biography Born in Bern, Switzerland on 1 November 1800, he was christened Meisner but later changed the spelling of his name to Meissner. For most of his 40 ...

) Mez * ''

Ocotea dispersa ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of t ...

'' (

) Mez * ''

Ocotea divaricata ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of t ...

'' (

) Mez * ''

Ocotea domatiata ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of ...

'' Mez * '' Ocotea fasciculata'' (Nees) Mez * ''

Ocotea floribunda ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of ...

'' * '' Ocotea foeniculacea'' – black sweetwood * ''

'' – "til", "tilo" * '' Ocotea gabonensis'' * '' Ocotea glaucosericea'' * '' Ocotea glaziovii'' Mez * '' Ocotea gracilis'' * ''

Ocotea guianensis ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of ...

'' * ''

Ocotea harrisii ''Ocotea harrisii'' is a species of plant in the genus ''Ocotea'' of the family Lauraceae. It is an evergreen tree endemic to Jamaica. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) i ...

'' * '' Ocotea heterochroma'' * '' Ocotea indecora'' ( Schott) Mez * '' Ocotea insularis'' * '' Ocotea illustris'' * '' Ocotea infrafoveolata'' * '' Ocotea jelskii'' * '' Ocotea jorge-escobarii'' * '' Ocotea kenyensis'' * '' Ocotea lancifolia'' * '' Ocotea lancilimba'' * '' Ocotea langsdorffii'' * '' Ocotea leucoxylon'' – loblolly sweetwood * '' Ocotea mandonii'' * '' Ocotea marmellensis'' * '' Ocotea matogrossensis'' * '' Ocotea megaphylla'' * '' Ocotea minarum'' Mart. ex

* '' Ocotea monzonensis'' * '' Ocotea moschata'' – nemoca * ''

Ocotea nemodaphne ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of t ...

'' – laurel sassafras * '' Ocotea notata'' (

) Mez * '' Ocotea oblonga'' * '' Ocotea obtusata'' * ''

Ocotea odorifera ''Ocotea odorifera'' is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is an evergreen tree in the genus ''Ocotea''. It is commonly known as Brazilian sassafras or American cinnamon; though it is not a true sassafras nor a true cinnamon, thes ...

'' – Brazilian sassafras * '' Ocotea oocarpa'' * '' Ocotea otuzcensis'' * '' Ocotea pachypoda'' * '' Ocotea pauciflora'' * ''

Ocotea porosa ''Ocotea porosa'', commonly called imbuia or Brazilian walnut, is a species of plant in the Lauraceae family. Its wood is very hard, and it is a major commercial timber species in Brazil. Taxonomy and naming It is often placed in the related ...

'' * ''

Ocotea porphyria ''Ocotea porphyria'' is a species of evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to southern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina, where it lives in humid montane forests, or Yungas, on the eastern side of the Andes. Common names ...

'' * ''

Ocotea portoricensis ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of ...

'' * '' Ocotea prunifolia'' * ''

Ocotea puberula ''Ocotea puberula'' is a species of evergreen tree in the plant genus ''Ocotea'' of the family Lauraceae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Mexico, Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat ...

'' * '' Ocotea pulchra'' Vattimo-Gil * '' Ocotea quixos'' – ishpingo * '' Ocotea raimondii'' * ''

Ocotea rivularis ''Ocotea rivularis'' is a species of evergreen tree in the plant genus ''Ocotea'' of the family Lauraceae. It is endemic to Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de ...

'' * '' Ocotea robertsoniae'' * '' Ocotea rotundata'' * ''

Ocotea rubrinervis ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of ...

'' * '' Ocotea rugosa'' * ''

Ocotea sericea ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of ...

'' * ''

Ocotea silvestris ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of ...

'' Vattimo-Gil * '' Ocotea smithiana'' * '' Ocotea spathulata'' * '' Ocotea spectabilis'' * '' Ocotea spixiana'' (

) Mez * '' Ocotea staminoides'' * '' Ocotea tabacifolia'' (

) Rohwer * '' Ocotea teleiandra'' (

) Mez * '' Ocotea urbaniana'' Mez * ''

Ocotea usambarensis ''Ocotea usambarensis'' is a species of ''Ocotea'' (family Lauraceae), native to eastern Africa in Kenya, Tanga Region of Tanzania, and locally in Uganda, where it occurs at 1600–2600 m altitude in high rainfall montane cloud forest. Common ...

'' – East African camphorwood * '' Ocotea uxpanapana'' * '' Ocotea vaccinioides''

* '' Ocotea velloziana'' * '' Ocotea velutina'' Mart. * '' Ocotea viridiflora'' * '' Ocotea wrightii'' – Wright's laurel canelon

Formerly placed here

* ''

Chlorocardium rodiei ''Chlorocardium rodiei'' (greenheart) is a species of flowering plant in the family Lauraceae. It is one of two species in the genus '' Chlorocardium''. It is native to Guyana and Suriname in South America. Other common names include cogwood, dem ...

'' (bibiru, "greenheart"), as ''O. rodiei'' * ''

Nectandra coriacea ''Nectandra'' is a genus of plant in the family Lauraceae. They are primarily Neotropical, with ''Nectandra coriacea'' being the only species reaching the southernmost United States. They have fruit with various medical effects. Sweetwood is a co ...

'' ("lancewood"), as ''O. catesbyana, O. coriacea'' * ''

Sextonia rubra ''Sextonia'' is a neotropical genus of plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; ...

'', as ''O. rubra

Fossil record

†''Ocotea hradekensis'' from the early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

, has been described from fragmentary

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

leaf compressions that have been found in the Kristina Mine at

Hrádek nad Nisou Hrádek nad Nisou (; german: Grottau, pl, Gródek nad Nysą) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,700 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument ...

North Bohemia North Bohemia ( cs, Severní Čechy, german: Nordböhmen) is a region in the north of the Czech Republic. Location North Bohemia roughly covers the present-day NUTS regional unit of ''CZ04 Severozápad'' and the western part of ''CZ05 Severovýc ...

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. ''O. foetens'' from the

is its nearest living relative.

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

†''Ocotea heerii'' leaf impressions of

Messinian The Messinian is in the geologic timescale the last age or uppermost stage of the Miocene. It spans the time between 7.246 ± 0.005 Ma and 5.333 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). It follows the Tortonian and is followed by the Zanclean, the first ...

age (ca. 5.7 Ma) have been uncovered in Monte Tondo, northern

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

.Palaeoenvironmental analysis of the Messinian macrofossil floras of Tossignano and Monte Tondo (Vena del Gesso Basin, Romagna Apennines, northern Italy) - Vasilis Teodoridis, Zlatko Kvacek, Marco Sami and Edoardo Martinetto - December 2015 DOI: 10.14446/AMNP.2015.249.

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* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3305677 Lauraceae genera Neotropical realm flora Afrotropical realm flora