PlantFiles: Swamp Bay, Swamp Red Bay
Persea palustris

This is a beautiful tree, but it is severely threatened by Laurel Wilt. This is caused by a fungus being spread quickly by the non-native Ambrosia bettle.

Swamp Bay is a medium to large tree or sometimes a shrub (usually 30 to 40 feet high; sometimes more). It is native to bottomlands, hardwood swamps, cypress swamps, riversides and lowlands and moist sites in the southeastern United States in the coastal plain and Piedmont from Delaware and Maryland south along the coastal plain throughout much of Florida (including the Keys), west along the Gulf coastal plain and lowlands into Texas (zones 5b or 6a through 11). The leaves may be similar to Red Bay (Persea borbonia), but are usually slightly more rounded. The leaves have the distinctive spicy scent of Bay when crushed. A better way to distinguish between the two species is that while Red Bay is found in the same habitats as Swamp Bay PLUS drier sites, Swamp Bay is only found usually in the swampy or moist sites.

Like Red Bay, Swamp Bay is very useful for wildlife.