Knowra Lauraceae Lauraceae Lauraceae is a family of flowering plants, mostly trees and shrubs, that includes laurels, cinnamon, camphor, and avocado. Many species contain aromatic oils.
Magnoliids : A major lineage of flowering plants that includes magnolias, laurels, and related groups. Lauraceae belongs to this early-diverging lineage of flowering plants.
Avocado : The edible fruit of Persea americana, a tree native to the Americas. Avocado is a major food crop from the genus Persea.
Lauraceae fossils : Fossil leaves, flowers, and fruits attributed to the laurel family or its close relatives. Fossils document the family’s ancient presence and changing distributions.
Annonaceae : A flowering-plant family of mostly tropical trees and shrubs, including the custard apples. It is another species-rich magnoliid family, but belongs to a different order.
Cryptic species : Distinct evolutionary lineages that are difficult to distinguish using visible traits alone. Similar-looking Lauraceae can conceal species boundaries that molecular evidence helps resolve.
Laurus : A genus of evergreen trees and shrubs that includes the bay laurel, Laurus nobilis. Bay laurel is the family’s familiar namesake example.
Cinnamon : A spice made from the inner bark of several Cinnamomum species. Cinnamomum bark supplies one of the family’s best-known spices.
Cretaceous period : The geologic period from about 145 to 66 million years ago, when flowering plants diversified extensively. Lauraceae-like fossils occur amid the major radiation of flowering plants.
Monimiaceae : A family of flowering plants, mostly trees and shrubs, found chiefly in tropical and subtropical regions. It is a nearby magnoliid family with overlapping traits and habitats.
Plant DNA barcoding : The use of short, standardized DNA sequences to identify plant species. Barcoding can clarify identities in a family with difficult morphological distinctions.
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