The fruits are an important food source for birds, on which some Palaeognathae are highly dependent.
Larvae have been recorded feeding on a wide range of plants : Canellaceae, Guttiferae, Erythroxylaceae, Myrtaceae, Moraceae and Lauraceae.
Possibilities include being named after a laurel (lauro) that once stood nearby, a version of dal Rio ("of the river"), or once standing on an area of dried-up swamp (luprio).
The "Bumelia Webworm Moth" Urodus parvula is recorded on Lauraceae: (avocado=Persea), Fagaceae (Quercus), Sapotaceae (Sideroxylon) and Erythroxylaceae: Erythroxylum.
Burger described 104 plant species, primarily in the Lauraceae and Moraceae.
It has been documented as carrying the fungus that causes laurel wilt, a disease that can kill several tree species in the Lauraceae family.
Lauraceae and Burseraceae are particularly favoured, and the young are fed regurgitated Lauraceae by the female.
Of the general plants they eat, the most common types are Canarium (Burseracea), Cryptocarya, Ocotea, Ravensara (Lauraceae), Ficus (Moraceae), Eugenia/Syzygium (Myrtaceae), and Grewia (Tiliaceae).
In botany he achieved notoriety for, among other things, contributions to the Acanthaceae and Lauraceae families.
At lower elevations these species mix with other trees, especially Lauraceae and Myrtaceae.