Camphor trees are also taking over forests in Australia, where they were introduced in the early 1800s. Since camphor trees are easily spread by birds from cultivated yards to open forests, then homeowners will have to join the management effort by removing camphor trees from their property. The camphor tree is a broad-leaved evergreen that is often twice as wide as it is tall. A quick way to identify camphor is to crush some leaves in order to smell the pungent camphor odor. Camphor trees are densely covered with shiny oval and elliptical leaves, up to 5 inches long .
Young leaves are reddish.
Camphors grow either in full sun or light shade, and prefer well-drained, sandy soil. One camphor-eradication effort is underway in part of the Ocala National Forest. The FCLF processes dead camphor trees into mulch for use as landscaping material . The Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants and the St. Johns River Water Management District are jointly surveying the spread of, as well as determining the cost of eliminating, camphor trees from District-owned lands, where it is quickly invading some of Florida's few remaining virgin forests and wetlands.