Persea humilis

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Persea humilis
Pers humi.jpg
Photo by Shirley Denton (Copyrighted, use by photographer’s permission only), Nature Photography by Shirley Denton
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order: Laurales
Family: Lauraceae
Genus: Persea
Species: P. humilis
Binomial name
Persea humilis
Nash
Pers humi dist.jpg
Natural range of Persea humilis from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: Silk bay; Scrub bay[1].

Taxonomic notes

Synonyms: Tamala humilis (Nash) Small; Persea borbonia var. humilis (Nash) L.E. Kopp.[1]

Varieties: none.[1]

Description

A description of Persea humilis is provided in The Flora of North America. It is a tree/shrub with shiny, green leaves. The lower leaf surface has dense, appressed hairs with a rusty or blackish color, depending on the age. They are uniform across the surface of the veins. These hairs on the lower side of the leaf help reduce water loss. The peduncles are 1-3 cm long and the leaf blades are 5-8 cm long.[1]

Distribution

P. humilis is limited to the scrubs of the Florida peninsula.[2]

Ecology

Habitat

It is endemic to rosemary and sand pine scrubs in peninsular Florida.[3]

Pollination

The following Hymenoptera families and species were observed visiting flowers of Persea humilis at Archbold Biological Station: [4]

Colletidae: Colletes brimleyi, C. nudus

Halictidae: Augochlorella aurata, Augochloropsis metallica

Sphecidae: Bicyrtes quadrifasciata, Cerceris fumipennis

Vespidae: Euodynerus apopkensis, Polistes metricus, Pseudodynerus quadrisectus

Conservation and management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-atlantic states. Working Draft of 21 May 2015. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
  2. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named floridata
  3. [[1]]NatureServe. Accessed: February 20, 2016
  4. Deyrup, M.A. and N.D. 2015. Database of observations of Hymenoptera visitations to flowers of plants on Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA.