This tree mostly inhabits redwood forests, California mixed woods, yellow pine forest, and oak woodlands.
Bays occur in oak woodland close to the coast, and in northern California where moisture is sufficient, usually in or near riparian areas.

During the Miocene, oak-laurel forests were found in Central and Southern California.
Typical tree species included oaks ancestral to present-day California oaks, and an assemblage of trees from the laurel family, including Nectandra, Ocotea, Persea, and Umbellularia.
Only one native species from the laurel family, Umbellularia californica, remains in California today.
This tree mostly inhabits redwood forests, California mixed woods, yellow pine forest, and oak woodlands. Bays occur in oak woodland close to the coast, and in northern California where moisture is sufficient, usually in or near riparian areas.
During the Miocene, oak-laurel forests were found in Central and Southern California. Typical tree species included oaks ancestral to present-day California oaks, and an assemblage of trees from the laurel family, including Nectandra, Ocotea, Persea, and Umbellularia. Only one native species from the laurel family, Umbellularia californica, remains in California today.
Umbellularia