View source for 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 ==
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{{Biology-stub}}

[[Category:Lauraceae|*]]