Camphor laurel
Cinnamomum camphora
family
Lauraceae
origin
Exotic
declaration
Category 3 Restricted Matter (Biosecurity Act 2014)
Must not be distributed or disposed. This means it must not be released into the environment unless the distribution or disposal is authorised in a regulation or under a permit.
Common names
Camphor laurel, Camphor, Camphor tree, Formosa camphor, Gum camphor, Japanese camphor, Shiu leaf, True camphor.
A large spreading tree with light brown or greyish-brown bark that is scaly or fissured. Its leaves have glossy green upper surfaces and duller undersides, and give off a distinctive camphor smell when crushed. Its leaf buds are enclosed in distinctive overlapping scales when they are young. Its tiny whitish-coloured flowers are borne in branched clusters at the tips of the branches and have six tiny 'petals'. Its globular fruit (8-10 mm across) turn from green to glossy black as they mature and are attached to the stem by a distinctive cup-shaped structure.
Impact
Impact
Camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) is a significant environmental weed in New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland, where it is actively managed by community groups. It is also regarded as a potential environmental weed or "sleeper weed" in northern Queensland and other states (e.g. Western Australia and Victoria). It is currently having the greatest impact in south-eastern Queensland, where it is ranked among the top 10 most invasive plants, and in north-eastern New South Wales (particularly in the Richmond-Tweed and Bellingen districts). During a recent survey, this species was also listed as a priority environmental weed in three Natural Resource Management regions. It is also a growing concern in the wider Sydney and Blue Mountains region in central New South Wales.Camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) is a large tree that aggressively invades moist gullies, open woodlands, rainforest margins, and vegetation near waterways (i.e. riparian areas). It creates a dense canopy, competes with and replaces native species, and continues to inhibit their regeneration even after it has been removed. Along the waterways of south-eastern Queensland it is replacing the native blue gums (Eucalyptus tereticornis), one of the favourite food trees of the koala.It is also regarded as being invasive in other parts of the world, and has been listed in the Global Invasive Species Database.
Location
Location
Characteristics
Characteristics
Similar Species
Similar Species
Camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) is a significant environmental weed in New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland, where it is actively managed by community groups. It is also regarded as a potential environmental weed or "sleeper weed" in northern Queensland and other states (e.g. Western Australia and Victoria). It is currently having the greatest impact in south-eastern Queensland, where it is ranked among the top 10 most invasive plants, and in north-eastern New South Wales (particularly in the Richmond-Tweed and Bellingen districts). During a recent survey, this species was also listed as a priority environmental weed in three Natural Resource Management regions. It is also a growing concern in the wider Sydney and Blue Mountains region in central New South Wales.Camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) is a large tree that aggressively invades moist gullies, open woodlands, rainforest margins, and vegetation near waterways (i.e. riparian areas). It creates a dense canopy, competes with and replaces native species, and continues to inhibit their regeneration even after it has been removed. Along the waterways of south-eastern Queensland it is replacing the native blue gums (Eucalyptus tereticornis), one of the favourite food trees of the koala.It is also regarded as being invasive in other parts of the world, and has been listed in the Global Invasive Species Database.
