Apollonias barbujana is one of the most beautiful trees of the Laurel Forest in the Canaries and Madeira. The genus Apollonias was named (in 1833) after the sun god Apollo or Phœbus of Greek mythology, associated with beauty. It is a broad-leaf evergreen tree recorded to 30 m. tall in the wild. As an ornamental specimen, it offers year-round aromatic foliage, great bark and the young spring growth being bright bronzy-red. It is more treelike, less shrubby, than Laurus nobilis. Whether it is more or less cold-hardy is not yet known. I have read that a 1970 accession at the Los Angeles Arboretum measured (in 2007) 22 m. tall, its trunk almost 3 m. in circumference (53 cm DBH). In the same article it was said that this tree has been reseeding sparingly, and some of its offspring have proven cold-hardy in Seattle. Does anybody have additional information?, is it doing well in Seattle? The tree in the pic is at the Jardin de Aclimatacion de La Orotava in Tenerife Gomero
No records of successful growth in Britain; safe to say it is a lot less hardy than Laurus nobilis (which is hardy almost throughout Britain).
Very similar to Laurus in general appearance. Largest one I have seen is on Vashon Island, near Seattle. This is now above head height. A seedling obtained from the same source and planted in my garden north of Seattle froze out without reaching much size. To pursue more information about the Vashon Island specimen use this page. http://www.colvoscreeknursery.com/webform.html
