Umbellularia
| Umbellularia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Foliage and flowers | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Lauraceae |
| Genus: | Umbellularia (C.G.D.Nees) Nuttall |
| Species: | U. californica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Umbellularia californica | |
| |
| Natural range | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Sciadiodaphne Rchb. | |
Umbellularia californica, the California bay laurel, is the most common tree near Keenan's house, and a relative of Laurus nobilis (culinary bay laurel). The leaves have an intense flavor and can be used to flavor food similarly to other bay leaves, and the fruits are also edible after various preparations.
The avocado is also in the Lauraceae family, and the resemblance is clear when you look at a bay laurel fruit. It is basically like a small, intensely bay-flavored avocado with a large pit. Both the thin fatty covering of the pit, and the pit itself, can be used as food.
Edible parts
- Leaves, one or two in a dish to add flavor
- Mesocarp (fatty outer flesh), only palatable at an ideal stage of ripeness, or perhaps processed
- Seed, roasted
Acknowledgements
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Umbellularia, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.