Evergreen, dioecious or monoecious trees or shrubs, with aromatic oil glands. Leaves alternate, entire; without stipules. Inflorescence of dense, subumbellate clusters of unisexual or bisexual flowers enclosed until maturity in a globose, bud-like involucre of bracts. Perianth segments 4 or 6, free to base, whitish. Stamens 8–12; filaments with 2 submedian, very conspicuous, stipitate glands; anthers opening by flaps. Staminodes in female flowers 4, the atrophied anthers flanked by 2 large, reniform, stipitate glands. Style 1; stigma large, pileate, 3-lobed. Ovary superior, unilocular; ovule solitary, pendulous. Fruit a berry with 1 seed.

A very large family of 49 genera and 2000 to 2500 species, widely distributed in the tropics, especially in Asia and America, but less common in temperate regions.

Laurus L.

Aromatic, dioecious, evergreen shrubs or trees. Leaves alternate, entire. Inflorescence of dense umbellate clusters of unisexual flowers. Perianth segments 4. Stamens in male flowers 8–12 with conspicuous stipitate glands; female flowers with 4 staminodes. Fruit a berry.

Contains 2 species, L. nobilis and L. azorica (Seub.) Franco in the Azores, Madeira and the Canaries.