True Laurels
What are they?
When most people talk of 'laurel', then tend to be thinking of Cherry Laurel, which is a member of the rose family and commonly used for hedging. The true laurels are a primitive family of plants that, in a European context consists of one species (Bay Laurel) that is widespread in southern Europe and a few others that are confined to the Atlantic islands, which served as glacial refugia during past ice ages. Bay Laurel is the species that was used to provide the 'laurels' that were worn in Roman times.
Where are they found?
Bay Laurel is widely planted in cemeteries and churchyards and may occasionally be found in amenity areas or surviving where garden waste has been dumped.
Identification
The appearance of Bay Laurel may be rather non-descript, but the scent is distinctive and diagnostic.
Bay Laurel Laurus nobilis
Introduced from southern Europe as a garden ornamental and to provided bay leaves for culinary purposes. Flowers April to May. An evergreen large shrub or small tree, typically to 10m in height but often pruned into topiary shapes where planted in amenity areas. Leaves tough, shiny and with a strong and distinctive scent. Bark smooth but pitted with small holes on mature trees; grey, but becoming green with algal cover in dense shade.
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