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Malosma
Laurel sumac (Malosma laurina) is the only species in its genus, a rounded evergreen shrub or small tree of coastal southern California and Baja California. It is grown mainly as a drought-tolerant native or wildlife plant in frost-free areas, and it is not frost-hardy.
Malosma is a monotypic genus comprising the species Malosma laurina. The species is an evergreen tree or shrub belonging to the sumac family, Anacardiaceae, native to the Pacific coast regions of southern California and Baja California, as well as the southeastern California Channel Islands, and some of the Pacific islands of Baja California. It is known as laurel sumac and lentisco (Spanish).
Malosma laurina is commonly utilized as a landscape plant for native plant or xeriscape gardens, as well as for wildlife gardens, in frost-free areas.
Naturally occurring plants have been used as "sentinel plants" by avocado and citrus growers to help indicate areas that are free of frost and suitable for their orchards in Southern California.
Malosma laurina is distributed along the southern California coastline (primarily from Point Conception south to La Paz), and on several of the Channel Islands lying off the coast. Several records of the species have also been made north of Point Conception, around the city of Arroyo Grande, California. Malosma laurina is not frost-hardy.
The Chumash crushed and ate the dried fruits of Malosma laurina — perhaps as a flour or meal — and also used the root bark to make a tea for treating dysentery.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Malosma by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
