The laurel family (Lauraceae), known today for plants like cinnamon and bay laurel, includes many evergreen trees and shrubs that dominate tropical and subtropical rainforests worldwide. The family has ancient roots, with the earliest fossils appearing in the Early Cretaceous. By the Late Cretaceous, laurels had spread globally, becoming common components of humid lowland forests. Some, like the wood genus Paraphyllanthoxylon, represent the earliest known flowering trees to reach canopy height, with fossil logs up to 1.8 meters in diameter dated to around 92 million years ago.

Cinnamomum-like (cinnamon tree) laurels are particularly common in the Cretaceous fossil record. One of the most abundant was Catula gettyi, a probable evergreen tree that dominated the tropical floodplains of the Kaiparowits Formation. It thrived around ponds and rivers, often forming the primary canopy in disturbed habitats. Related fossil laurels also appear in the Hell Creek Formation, suggesting this group remained ecologically important right up to the end of the Cretaceous. Many lauralean fossil leaves from both Kaiparowits and Hell Creek show abundant insect feeding damage, offering a glimpse into ancient ecological interactions.