Shrubs - small families

Shrubs - Small Families

Laurel Family - Lauraceae

Bay Laurel Laurus nobilis

Native to the Mediterranean Region. Common in Mediterranean maquis but also widely cultivated in gardens and urban areas.


Habit	Flowers	Flowers	Flower

Leaves	Leaves	Leaves	Bark

Oleaster Family - Elaeagnaceae

Narrow-leaved Oleaster Elaeagnus angustifolia

Native from the Black Sea region of Europe eastwards through the steppe zone to western China and south to the Levant and Pakistan. Often also planted as a shelter belt in coastal regions for its salt-tolerance.


Flowers	Leaves	Leaves	Sucker growth leaves

Fruit	Fruit	Fruit	Winter twig and bud

Mulberry Family - Moraceae

Common Fig Ficus carica

Probably native to the eastern Mediterranean, eastwards to Iran, but long cultivated elsewhere and well-established and cultivated.


Leaf	Leaf	Flower

Young fruit	Mature fruit	Winter twig	Bark

Purple Loosestrife Family - Lythraceae

Pomegranate Punica granatum

Introduced from Asia Minor and commonly planted for its fruit and for ornament. A double-flowered form is sometimes found in gardens.


Flower bud	Flowers	Double flowers	Leaves

Leaf	Fruit	Fruit

Tamarisk Family - Tamaricaceae

Hampe's Tamarisk Tamarix hampeana

Native to the eastern Mediterranean, from Sicily and Albania eastward. Flowers March-May; flower spikes 7-10mm wide; flowers with 4-5 parts and with petals to 4mm long. Sepals c.2mm long, the outer ones keeled. Stamens inserted at apex of each disc lobe; filaments slender. Lower bracts shorter than pedicels. Mature bark brown. (Tamarix parviflora has flowers 4-parted, spikes 3-6mm wide and petals to only 2mm long, not keeled in the lower part).


Flowers	Flowers	Flowers	Flowers

Flower	Flower buds	Leaves	Stem

Smyrna Tamarisk Tamarix smyrnensis

Native from South-east Europe to Pakistan. Flowers irregularly, April-September; flower spikes 3-7mm wide; flowers with 5 parts and with petals to 2mm long, keeled in the lower part. Stamens inserted below disc sinuses; filaments slender. Bracts longer than pedicels. Mature bark reddish-brown.


Habit	Winter stems	Young stem	Winter bud

Birch Family - Betulaceae

European Hazel Corylus avellana

Native throughout Europe to Turkey, the Urals and the Caucasus. Forms a multistemmed shrub with long, cane-like stems. Leaves variable, rounded, but often with a 'shouldered' appearance. The leafy bracts surrounding the developing hazel nuts typically form a broad, bell-shaped profile, widening towards the tips.


Habit	Leaf	Male flowers	Female flower

Fruit	Fruit	Winter bud	Bark

Storax Family - Styracaceae

Storax Styrax officinalis

Native from Italy and the Balkans to Turkey and the Levant.


Habit	Flowers	Flowers	Flowers

Flowers	Leaves	Leaf	Winter buds

Dogwood Family - Cornaceae

Cornelian-cherry Cornus mas

Native through Central Europe to the Caucasus and Turkey. A large shrub or small tree to 4m in height. Flowers appear on the bare stems in winter. Young stems dull, dark red and green. Leaves are more leathery and more glossy than those of other dogwoods.


Flowers	Flowers	Flowers	Leaves

Fruit	Winter stem and flower buds	Winter stem and leaf buds	Bark

Pittosporum Family - Pittosporaceae

Japanese Cheesewood Pittosporum tobira

Native to South Korea and Japan. Commonly planted in the Mediterranean Region as an ornamental bush or hedge.


Habit	Habit	Flowers	Flowers

Flowers	Leaves	Fruit	Ripe seeds

European Holly Ilex aquifolium

Native and common throughout most of East Anglia as a hedgerow tree or understory tree in woodland. Flowers May to August. A tree to over 20m in the natural state, but often pruned to a hedge. Very variable in leaf shape, stem colour (green or purple) and in overall growth style. Berries usually red but may be orange or yellow, even on wild plants.