Bay Laurel
From Freepedia
| Bay Laurel | ||||||||||||||
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| Image:Laurus-nobilis-flowers.JPG Laurus nobilis flowers and leaves | ||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Laurus nobilis L. |
The Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis, Lauraceae), also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Grecian Laurel, or just Laurel, is an evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10-18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region.
The leaves are 6-12 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, with a characteristic serrated and wrinkled margin. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants; each flower is pale yellow-green, about 1 cm diameter, borne in pairs together beside a leaf. The fruit is a small black berry about 1 cm long, containing a single seed.
Uses and symbolism
Bay Laurel is the source of the bay leaves which are used for their flavour in cooking. It was also the source of the laurel wreath of ancient Greece, and therefore the expression of "resting on one's laurels". A wreath of bay laurels was given as the prize at the Pythian Games. It is also the source of the word baccalaureate (laurel berry) and thus bachelor, and of poet laureate.
 Laurel grown in a kitchen for bay leaves |
 Laurus nobilis from Koehler's Medicinal-Plants (1887) |
