BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Persea borbonia | Redbay 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Redbay's growth habit varies over its range [5].  It usually grows as a
medium-sized tree, commonly shrubby, up to 45 feet (15 m) tall [13,20].
Occasionally, old trees may reach a d.b.h. of 3 feet (1 m), with a large
crown [20].  In southern Florida hammocks, redbay grows branched and
crooked, seldom achieving tree form [15].

Redbay leaves are alternate, simple, evergreen, and aromatic [13].
Stomatal characteristics suggest adaptation for water conservation [14].
Redbay flowers are perfect, small, cymes [5,12].  Annually produced
fruits are drupes which turn black or blue as they ripen [5].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
The primary mode of regeneration for redbay is sexual.  The flowers are
insect- and wind-pollinated.  Songbirds, wild turkeys, northern
bobwhites, black bears, and white-tailed deer disperse seeds.  Natural
stands of redbay are patchy and diffuse due to overstory competition
[5].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Redbay soils are frequently Histosols consisting of a thick layer of
peat [15,36], a sandy-humis, or an organic muck [36].  When layered over
the Everglades' marl these soils may be basic [15], although throughout
most of redbay's range these soils are acidic [36].  The soils are
infertile [7] and provide poor mechanical support [5].

The climate throughout redbay's range is warm-temperate to subtropical.
The frost-free period is usually greater than 250 days per year and
normal temperatures range from 100 to 10 degrees F (38-minus 12 deg C).
Mean annual rainfall is between 52 and 64 inches (1,020 and 1,630 mm)
and is well distributed seasonally [5].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Redbay is a late-seral species.  It is shade tolerant but also grows
well in the open in both young and old stands [5].  Redbay is a climax
associate in Daubenmire's [9] southern magnolia (Magnolia
grandiflora)-live oak (Quercus virginiana) type and dominates swamp
forest [43] and cedar [34] understories in the absence of disturbance.
 


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Redbay flowers between April and May [12], and its fruit ripens during
August and September [38].

Related categories for Species: Persea borbonia | Redbay