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Malosma laurina (Laurel Sumac) - A large, rounded evergreen shrub growing to 10-15 feet tall or more by as wide. The aromatic leaves are simple, alternate, somewhat leathery and folded along the midrib to form a trough. The foliage is glabrous and aromatic with reddish leaf veins, petioles and stems. The leaf blades are up to 4" long and the petioles are about 1-1/4 inch long. The small white flowers bloom in the summer are fragrant and develop into white fruits, which are attractive to birds.
Plant in full sun in a well-draining soil and give infrequent to no irrigation. It is susceptible to frost and will sometimes drop its leaves when the temperature drop below 25° F, so is often planted by citrus growers as a frost indicator. Is a great large native screening plant.
Malosma laurina, previously known as Rhus laurina, is commonly found on dry ridges and canyons below 3000 feet in chaparral and coastal sage scrub in California The origin of the name Malosma comes from Latin for odor which resembles that of an apple and the specific epithet laurina is for laurel-like leaves. We grew this plant from 1985 until 2005.
The information displayed on this page about Malosma laurina is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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