Lauraceæ,

Lauraceæ, a natural order of exogenous plants, consisting of trees or shrubs which have leaves without stipules, and flowers in panicles or umbels. The perianth is 4–6-cleft; the stamens are opposite to its segments, and twice as many. The fruit is a one-seeded berry or drupe; the fruit-stalk often enlarging and becoming fleshy. This order contains about 450 known species, mostly tropical. The Laurel (q.v.) is the only European species. An aromatic and fragrant character pervades the order, and amongst its products are cinnamon, cassia, and other aromatic barks, also a number of aromatic fruits somewhat resembling nutmeg (see NUTMEG). The timber of some species, as greenheart, is valuable; some are esteemed for their medicinal barks, as greenheart (bebeeru) and sassafras; some for their secretions, of which camphor is the most important. Oreodaphne opifera, a South American tree, yields a camphoraceous volatile oil in great quantity if mere incisions are made in its bark. The fruit of some species is agreeable, as the Avocado Pear (q.v.). A very few remarkable species, forming the genus Casysthea, have been united with this order by many botanists, although others separate them as a distinct order. They are climbing parasites, like dodders, found in the woods of the hottest parts of the globe.