NATURE NOTES

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22513, 22 September 1938, Page 6 (Supplement)

NATURE NOTES

I have been asked to name a -handsome evergreen tree growing in front of St. Elmo, in Worcester Istreet, Christchurch. It is the bay 1 laurel or sweet bay tree, one of the most interesting plants historically to be found anywhere- Botanically it is known as laurus nobilis —the noble or celebrated laurel. It is actually the only true laurel we commonly grow in -Mew Zealand. We should not confuse it with another plant commonly but incorrectly known as laurel. That is a plant used for hedges as a shrub having berries, sometimes _ used for jam.- its botanical name is Prunus Laurocerasus, meaning cherry-laurel-prunus, and it is better ’known as cherry-laurel. As it belongs to the rose family, it is *«ot even a close relation of the bay 'tree which is a member- of the .Lauraceae or tree-laurel family.

The easiest identification character of the bay laurel is the delightful scent of the leaves, especially evident when crushed. This aromatic property is found in other . members of the family such as sassafras, benzoin, and camphor. JWhen well grown the bay tree may , reach a height of 60 feet—more often it is seen as a bushy shrub. ;Tt stands cutting well, so that it makes a useful hedge or tub plant. ; Grown in a tub it can be trimmed i to any shape and size required. The leaves are alternately arranged, up to four inches long, one . and a half to two inches wide, and equally tapered at each end, of firm texture, dark glossy green in colour and often wavy on the Male and female/flowers are produced on different trees, so that if .We wish to have berries we must grow plants of different sexes topathcr. The individual flowers are -■nail, greenish-yellow, and pro- > duced in clusters in the uppermost leaf-axils. ' The stamens in the male flowers are of unusual structure. On one side of each anther . will be found a number of little ■openings, each with Its trapdoor or valve, which is raised in dry weather to libcrate the pollen, but ■'-Is closed in wet weather. If female

THE BAY LAUREL

(By L. W. McCaskill)

flowers are pollenated they will produce shiny, round, black fruits about hall an inch long. Even though we do not find fruits we have no difficulty in growing the sweet bay. If we have a cold frame we can strike cuttings of half-ripened shoots in early autumn. Then most plants produce suckers Suite near the main stem; each of aese may be lifted and will make a separate plant. Virgil described these suckers as follows: The laurel of Parnassus, too, springs up as a small plant in the deep shade of the mother.*’ Those of us interested in the use of pleasant herbs in cooking should have a sweet bay tree in the garden. No rice pudding or blanc mange can be considered complete without the addition of bay leaves. Although not a native of England it has been grown there for several hundreds of years 1 . At one time large quantities of leaves were used for strewing on the floors of houses to give the rooms an attractive SD No other tree played such an Important part in the ritual of the ancient Greeks and later the Romans. Among the Greeks the plant was sacred to Apollo, especially in connexion with Tempe, in whose laurel groves the god himself was purified from the blood of the python. This legend was dramatically represented at the Pythian games or festival, once every eight years. A, boy would flee from Delphi to Tempe. and after a time would be led back with song, and crovmed and adorned with a wreath of laurel. Victors in the games were rewarded by being crowned with the laurel of Apollo. Probably as .a result of this, laurel became the symbol of triumph in Rome in later y£ &o was the god of poets, too, SO we find the Greeks using the fruiting sprays of laurel to make wreaths to crown their distinguished poets. Even to-day we use the term Poet Laureate fcr the official poet of England. The first degree. obtained by a student of a university is a bachelor s degree (bachelor of arts or bachelor or science). This term is supposed to have been derived through the French bachelier from baccalaureus, that is laurel-berry, in reference to the times when to® only distinguished scholars were The ancients used laurel branches and leaves in other ways. Some used it as a sign of truce where others would use the olive branch. Often letters announcing victory would be' adorned with laurel leaves, and the weapons of victorious soldiers returning home would usually be decorated wi-th le sSnr^ I thflat«l groves had been the scene of the purification of Apollo, many Greeks hung pieces of the plant before the doors or their houses on the assumption that it would also purify them. Romans sometimes u ® ed A he lecamto foretell the results of a cam naign. The crackling of the leaves Sn thrown was a good omen, their silence unlucky It was thought that Sghtateg could not strike a laurel JSSf hW fiSaf/SPit ”them from harm.