Tree of the day

Texas Ranger · May 29, 2019, 09:23:42 AM

How sweet it is!

caveman · May 29, 2019, 09:27:58 AM

It is not this one.

Ljohnsaw · May 29, 2019, 09:41:18 AM

You all keep throwing out clues but the "over 18" and "sassy cousin" stumps me. I want to say "sweet" basil but that is just a little herb... So how about sweet bay, not that I've ever heard of it before!

Woodpecker52 · May 29, 2019, 10:06:45 AM

Sweet bay magnolia?

ESFted · May 29, 2019, 10:44:45 AM

Persea burbonia.. Florida Mahogany, Redbay??

caveman · May 29, 2019, 10:54:46 AM

ESFted nailed it. smiley_clapping The tree of today is the Red bay or Persea burbonia. There is a swamp bay that looks about the same as the red bay to me. I goes by Persea palustris. It is supposed to have long, shaggy hairs on the underside of the leaf except for in Florida (suppose that is why it looks the same to me). I think both species are affected by the red bay ambrosia beetle that causes laurel wilt.

The sweetbay, pictured four posts previous to this one, is silver on the back the veins are not as prominent and lacks the drupe fruit. The sweetbay has a seedpod that looks a lot like its cousin's, the Southern Magnolia.

caveman · May 29, 2019, 10:59:10 AM

There is a Florida Mahogany, (Swietenia mahagoni.) but it has alternate, compound leaves with unequal bases and grows south of my location and along the coast. If I get a chance to go to Anna Maria this summer I will take pictures of one.

Magicman · May 29, 2019, 11:16:58 AM

Quote from: Magicman on May 28, 2019, 09:13:20 AMI was thinking Red Bay

No fair, I was trying to make yesterday's tree a Red Bay and then you chunked one in for today. :-\ That borders on cheating. ;D

LeeB · May 29, 2019, 11:20:23 AM

Kinda like slapping someone with sapwood eh?

Magicman · May 29, 2019, 11:23:07 AM

Yeah, sumping liken dat. Gonna take my leaves and leave. :

caveman · May 29, 2019, 04:41:03 PM

Magicman, don't leaf MAD (maple, ash, dogwood). Ellmoe requested a redbay tree of the day. Be on the lookout for the species I think I remember you have a bowl or serving vessel made out of in the coming days. I need to go get a good picture of one at my neighbor's place.

tule peak timber · May 29, 2019, 07:05:13 PM

The roots make a tea.

WDH · May 29, 2019, 08:32:02 PM

The "sassy" reference was to sassafras. Both sassafras and red bay are in the Lauraceace family.

caveman · May 29, 2019, 09:18:52 PM

I was telling my middle daughter, Shelby, that I have learned a lot from many of you on this thread as she was pushing my Dad's wheelchair down our road this evening. I had the dog and was taking pictures of a few more trees in the swamp.

Ljohnsaw · May 29, 2019, 10:35:27 PM

Quote from: WDH on May 29, 2019, 08:32:02 PM
The "sassy" reference was to sassafras. Both sassafras and red bay are in the Lauraceace family.

I did google sassafras and saw that and then Bay...

caveman · May 30, 2019, 04:25:14 AM

Today's tree is often just a bush. It has uses. One of its uses is that the leaves, especially when crushed deter some insects. The leaves are usually 3"-4" long.

WDH · May 30, 2019, 07:38:49 AM

The fruit is a waxy berry. The American Colonist used the berries to make candles. Native Americans used the stems and leaves to treat fever and crushed the leaves and rubbed them on their skin as a natural insect repellent. Has a unique, but to me, pleasant odor.

LeeB · May 30, 2019, 07:48:18 AM

bayberry?

WDH · May 30, 2019, 07:53:58 AM

Yes, it is sometimes called Southern bayberry. I know it as wax myrtle. Genus Myrica.

LeeB · May 30, 2019, 07:59:14 AM

I just got lucky based on your mention of candles. I thought ok, search for waxberry. Somehow that got me to bayberry.

caveman · May 30, 2019, 10:36:49 AM

It is a good little tree. It is also used to treat itching skin, stomach problems as well as a host of other maladies. There is a west coast Myrica too that is similar. The Southern Waxmyrtle is Myrica cerifera.

btulloh · May 30, 2019, 10:54:55 AM

How do prepare the wax myrtle for medicinal use? Leaves?

caveman · May 30, 2019, 11:24:32 AM

The leaves, fruit, roots, and bark all have uses. The bark is dried and made into a powder. The seeds/drupes are either eaten raw or boiled (may be carcinogenic according to some sources) and then used, the leaves can be dried and used to make a tea or just crumpled up and rubbed on the skin as a cover scent or to discourage the onslaught of mosquitoes (not as good as DEET in my experience but much more pleasant to apply on my skin).

Some folks even use the leaves to enhance the flavor of food as one would use bay leaves.

caveman · May 31, 2019, 08:06:42 AM

Getting a late start today.
This one is non-native and at first glance may be briefly confused with the redbay. The skinny tree in the foreground is another example (live oaks behind). The bark seems to dull a saw chain quickly. We milled some of this a couple of years ago and the vapors were almost overwhelming.