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Persea borbonia
Also called Redbay, Tisswood, Red Bay
Redbay (Tamala borbonia, also written Persea borbonia) is a small evergreen tree or large shrub in the laurel family, native to the coastal southeastern United States and the Bahamas. It thrives in moist, sandy or swampy lowland soils in sun to part shade and is best grown where winters are mild.
Tamala borbonia or redbay is a small, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae), native to the southeastern United States and the Bahamas. It belongs to the genus Tamala, which contains three species of evergreen trees native to the region. Tamala borbonia has several common names including tisswood, scrubbay, shorebay, and swampbay.
Tamala borbonia is native to the coastal margins of the southeastern United States and the Bahamas. It grows in the lowlands of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and eastern North Carolina. Small, isolated populations can be found in coastal Virginia, and near the Maryland and Delaware state line. It also grows in the Bahamas and is cultivated in Hawaii. It usually grows on the borders of swamp land.
The plant is not widely used now for medicinal purposes, however members of the Seminole tribe formerly used it as an emetic to induce vomiting. The dried leaves can be used as a flavoring spice.
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Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Tamala borbonia 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
