Ocotea foetens
| Ocotea foetens | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Lauraceae |
| Genus: | Ocotea |
| Species: | O. foetens |
| Binomial name | |
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Ocotea foetens (William Aiton) Baill. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Oreodaphne foetens (Aiton) Nees. |
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Oreodaphne foetens (Aiton) Nees.
Ocotea foetens, commonly called til, tilo, stinkwood, or rain tree of Hierro island, is a species of tree in the Lauraceae family. It is evergreen and grows up to 40 m tall. It is a common constituent of the laurisilva forests of Madeira and the Canary Islands. It is in danger of becoming threatened due to habitat loss.
Ocotea foetens is endemic to Macaronesia. Like the other species of the Ocotea genus, it is rich in essential oils, which give an unpleasant odor to the wood when freshly cut (hence the name , Latin for smelly, stinky, disgusting, unpleasant). It is rarely used as an ornamental. It is an evergreen tree generally up to 30 m (33 yd) in height, although some specimens may reach 40 m (44 yd). It commonly grows with multiple trunks branched from the base. The bark is rough and irregular, and dark in colour; the young branches are angular, with smooth bark, sometimes reddish in areas of recent growth. The wood is dark and hard.
The leaves are about 9–12 cm (3.5–4.7 in) long and 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) wide, oblong-lanceolate to almost elliptical, acuminate at the apex and slightly indented at the base. In adult plants, the leaves are leathery in texture, glossy on both sides, darker green on the upper surface, with 2(-4) small gland-like depressions on the underside near the base. The petioles are short (up to 15 mm (0.59 in) in length).
The flowers of both sexes are white, with splashes of green and pale yellow, releasing a slight odor. The perianth has six components, and there are nine stamens. The predominant flowering season is from June to August (northern hemisphere).
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Wikipedia