Lancewood Laurel Tree
The Lancewood (Ocotea Catesbyana, Sarg.) is a little evergreen laurel tree 20 to 30 feet high, much like the swamp bay in flower and fruit. But its shoots are smooth, its leaves thin and lanceolate, and the lobes of the calyx have dried away under the berry. The flower stalks are bright red. The reddish-brown bark is warty. This tree is common on the shores and islands of the lower end of Florida, from Cape Canaveral on the east around to Cape Romano. It is abundant and of largest size near Bay Biscayne.