LAUREL

The scientific name of the Laurel is Laurus

nobilis.

NAMES OF THE LAUREL

In English, we call it laurel, in Basque is
ereinotz,and in Italian it is alloro.

MORPHOLOGYCAL DESCRIPTION
Laurel can variate a lot depending in the height
and in the size.
Each flower is or green or yellow.
The sheets are from 6-12 cm height, to 2-4 cm
wide.
The fruit is a small dark bay with approximately
1 cm long.

USES OF THE LAUREL

Laurel is used for a lot of things like the
traditional medicine. You can also use it to
make some food or for the good smelling.

LEAVES
The laurel leaves are boiled in three parts of the water, when you have it in your mouth, is good for the
stomach ache, and is also good to put in your skin at night.

Laurel / ereinotz / Laurel Laurus nobilis

Dafne
Homero Odisea IX 186
Hesodo Teog. XXX; Trab y das 435 ss
Pausanias VIII 20,2
Teofrasto II 1,3; II 5,6; III 7,3; IV 13,7
Virgilio 45-55
Ovidio Met. I 452-600
Dioscrides I,78; I 40
Plinio XIII 152-157; XV 130,134, 137; XXIV 132
Suetonio Galba I

Translation of the texts

A lot of people recomends that when you are
going to vomit, to drink the laurel liquid.

DAFNES STORY
The mithological history of the laurel:
- A lot of years ago,an arrow has trown which had two
points, the love and the hate. Apollo twew an arrow,that
arrow had two ways to be trwon, the first one was the love
and the other one was to hate. He has trown the incorrect
one to Dafne and she hated Apolo and he has trwon the love
way to himself so he felt in love with Dafne,
- So with a bit of time she transformated in a tree, but her
love, Apollo kissed the tree and started making a crown with
the laurels leaves.

TYPES OF LAUREL
There are several different types of Laurel plants that are suitable for hedging. Most of the hedging
plants sold in the UK come from the Common or Cherry Laurel group (Prunus laurocerasus) but
Portugal Laurel also makes a dense, evergreen hedge. Bay Laurel is also a useful hedging plant but is
not hardy enough in some parts of the UK.

PHOTOS OF LAUREL BUSHES

ECOLOGY
Laurus nobilis is a widespread relic of the laurel forests that originally covered
much of the Mediterranean Basin when the climate of the region was more
humid. With the drying of the Mediterranean during the Pliocene
era, the laurel forests gradually retreated, and were replaced
by the more drought-tolerant sclerophyll plant communities
familiar today. Most of the last remaining laurel forests around
the Mediterranean are believed to have disappeared approximately
ten thousand years ago, although some remnants still persist in
the mountains of southern Turkey, northern Syria, southern
Spain, north-central Portugal, northern Morocco, Canary Islands
and in Madeira.

CULTIVATION NOTES
Bay can be grown in a number of ways. It thrives in containers, especially if
watered regularly and positioned in a sheltered spot. In the garden, bay trees

grow as a large bushy shrub or small tree, reaching a height of 7.5m (23ft) or
more. Bay can also be turned into topiary (trees or shrubs cut or trained into
specified shapes) specimens which can be shaped into pyramid, ball or
"lollipop" standards, and some have ornately plaited or spirally trained stems.