Tree Ident. help?

[dmikeyj]

I have this tree growing right behind a large oak, and in the midst of cedars.  Basically, it only gets light in a narrow corridor from the top.  It has shot almost straight up, 25-30 ft tall.  It occurs to me the reason I cannot find what it is is because it may not be a tree normally, as it reminds me of some shrubbery I have seen before.
Here are a few pics, click to embiggenate:







At the ground, it is about 8" diameter.  I cannot say I have ever seen fruit or flowers on this tree, though it could be because it is basically out of sight.

Any help would be great, thanks.

Mike

[mater]

maybe olive?

[okie64]

Thats a new one for me. Bark looks like redcedar but thats definitely not it. Looks like it might be a little too twisted to make a bow from anyways.

[gringol]

Looks like red bay.  Crush the leaves and compare the smell to the bay leaves in your spice cabinet.  It should be a similar smell.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Where's PatB? Pat will know I'm sure but I'm gonna take a guess and say some kind of rhododendron or maybe a some kind of bay.

Interesting for sure.

[mwirwicki]

I've seen that tree when I lived in Florida.  Can't pull it out of my memory banks however, if you're considering it for bow wood, it does look like it will be quite propellered.  Look how the bark spirals up the trunk like a barber pole.

[Pat B]

If it is growing in Florida it could be anything from anywhere. Too many exotics to keep up with.

[dmikeyj]

Well, I have a culinary bay tree, and the leaves smell nothing like the fresh bay, also, they are much thinner width, although they do seem similarly spiraled on the branch.  The bay tree here is only a few years old, but the bark is near nonexistent on the bay tree, let alone similar to this one.  Quite the quandary now...

I may take the tree out of the ground regardless, but I do see the twist now that its been pointed out.
I spent hours online looking for what species this is, and no joy whatsoever.
Thanks for the ideas guys.

[pditto613]

That kinda looks like a podocarpus, which is a shrub.  I've seen them with trunks that big, but never that tall.  It would have to be pretty old.