Mezilaurus

Mezilaurus is a genus of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is a neotropical genus consisting of 18-27 species, mostly hardwood evergreen trees, occurring from Costa Rica to the southeast of Brazil (Werff 1987). Thirteen species have been identified in Brazil, distributed mostly in the Amazon region. In Rio de Janeiro state only M. navalium (Allemão) Taub. ex Mez has been recorded. Some species have been reported within the Cerrado and in semideciduous forest surrounding the Pantanal Matogrossense. The name Mezilaurus (half laurel) refers to its similar appearance to the genus Laurus. The genus was described by Otto Kuntze ex Paul Hermann Wilhelm Taubert and published in Centralblatt Botanischer 50: 21 in 1892. The type species is Mezilaurus navalium (Allemão) Taub. Ex Mez. This genus is closely related to Licaria and Aiouea. Mezilaurus are monoecious trees or shrubs with leaves alternate, usually congested at the apex of the branches, without papillae on the abaxial epidermis. The inf......read more on Wikipedia.