Barbuzano (Apollonias canariensis)

A tree of the laurel family (Lauraceae), found mainly in the north of Madeira, where it grows down almost to the sea. It can reach more than twenty metres in height and has leathery, hairless leaves, sometimes almost opposite, and small flowers arranged in panicles shorter than the leaves. The protuberances often seen on the upper surface of the leaves of this tree are a gall of the Erineum type. Barbuzano wood is very little used by cabinet-makers because it is extremely hard. On the island of Porto Santo (‘holy harbour’) the name barbuzano is given to Sideroxylon Marmulano, a species known in Madeira as marmulano (Sideroxylon marmulano, a shrub).