What is Laurel?
{{taxobox |name = Lauraceae |image = Lindera triloba(Leaves).jpg |image_caption = ''Lindera triloba'' leaves |regnum = [[Plant]]ae |divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]] |classis = [[Magnoliopsida]] |ordo = [[Laurales]] |familia = '''Lauraceae''' |familia_authority = [[Antoine Laurent de Jussieu|Juss.]]}} [[File:Cinnamomum tamala W IMG 2433.jpg|thumb|250px|Leaves of ''[[Cinnamomum tamala]]'' - (malabathrum or tejpat)]] The '''Lauraceae''' or '''laurel family''' is a group of [[flowering plant]]s in the order [[Laurales]]. It includes the [[bay laurel]] and its closest relatives. The family has over 3000 [[species]] of [[flowering plant]]s in over 50 [[genera]] worldwide.<ref name=APGIII2009>{{Cite journal |last=Angiosperm Phylogeny Group |year=2009 |title=An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=161 |issue=2 |pages=105–121 |url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1095-8339.2003.t01-1-00158.x/pdf | format= PDF |accessdate=2013-07-06 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x }}</ref> They mostly live in warm [[temperate]] and [[tropical]] regions, especially [[southeast Asia]] and [[South America]]. Most are aromatic [[evergreen]] trees or [[shrubs]], but one or two genera such as ''[[Sassafras]]'' are [[deciduous]], and ''[[Cassytha]]'' is a genus of [[parasite|parasitic]] [[vine]]s. == References == {{reflist}} {{Biology-stub}} [[Category:Lauraceae|*]]