Ocotea puberula

Ocotea puberula is an evergreen tree in the laurel family Lauraceae, originally described by Louis Claude Richard as Laurus puberula in 1792 and transferred to Ocotea by Nees in 1836. It is a medium to large rainforest tree with finely pubescent young twigs (the source of the specific epithet), alternate simple coriaceous leaves with entire margins, small whitish dioecious flowers in axillary panicles, and small drupaceous fruits set in a cupule typical of the genus. The species is widespread through the Neotropics, occurring from tropical Mexico southward through Costa Rica and Panama and across tropical South America to northern Argentina, where it inhabits moist lowland and montane tropical and subtropical forests up to about 1,600 meters elevation. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The timber is locally important in southern Brazil and Argentina, where the species is commonly known as canela-sebo or canelilla.