Camphora officinarum camphor tree

Swollen basal burl and roots of the camphor in the Inner Quad. Sairus Patel, 10 Mar 2022

Camphor, Inner Quad. Irene Beardsley, 20 Mar 2003

A member of the laurel family, which like many such members (for example the California laurel) contains aromatic essential oils. Crush a leaf and smell it. Camphor is distilled from the wood. The shiny green leaves are distinctive, helping to identify the tree at a distance. Small yellow flowers are followed by black drupes containing a seed. Two venerable but declining patriarchs dating to before 1955 are in the inner northeast island of the Quad, their large swollen basal burls and surface roots pushing out the low enclosing curb. Several are in front of Encina Hall and Hoover Tower, and many are on Embarcadero Road near Newell Road, Palo Alto.

Cinnamomum camphora. From An Illustrated Manual of Pacific Coast Trees, Howard E. McMinn & Evelyn Maino