Bay Laurel

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Bay Laurel

The Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis, Lauraceae

Lauraceae

The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 2000 species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and Brazil....
), also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Grecian Laurel, Laurel, or Bay Tree, is an aromatic evergreen

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
tree

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
or large shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
reaching 10–18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region.

The leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
are 6–12 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with a characteristic finely serrated and wrinkled margin. It is dioecious

Plant sexuality

Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes Morphology aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, with male and female flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s on separate plants; each flower is pale yellow-green, about 1 cm diameter, borne in pairs together beside a leaf.

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Uses and symbolism

Bay Laurel is the source of the bay leaves

Bay leaf

Bay leaf , Greek Daphni, Romanian Dafin, Portuguese Louro; is the aromatic leaf of several species of the Laurel family . Fresh or dried bay leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavor and fragrance....
which are used for their flavour in cooking. It was also the source of the laurel wreath

Laurel wreath

A laurel wreath is a circular wreath made of interlocking branches and leaves of the Bay Laurel , an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. In Greek mythology, Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head....
of ancient Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
, and therefore the expression of "resting on one's laurels". A wreath of bay laurels was given as the prize at the Pythian Games

Pythian Games

The Pythian Games were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games, held every four years at the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi....
because the games were in honor of Apollo

Apollo

In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Apollo , is one of the most important and many-sided of the Twelve Olympians. The ideal of the kouros , Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy; archery; medicine and healing; music, poetry, and the arts; and more....
and the laurel was one of his symbols ever since his unsuccessful pursuit of Daphne

Apollo and Daphne

Apollo and Daphne is a story from ancient Greek mythology, retold by Hellenistic and Ancient Rome authors in the form of an amorous Vignette ; Thomas Bulfinch drew on those late sources in the following manner:...
. In the Bible, the sweet-bay is often an emblem of prosperity and fame. In Christianity it is said to symbolize the Resurrection of Christ and the triumph of Humanity thereby. It is also the source of the word baccalaureate
Baccalaureate

A baccalaureate is an educational qualification. See Bachelor's degree for background on the term.Baccalaureate may also refer to:*International Baccalaureate, a group of three internationally recognised educational programmes for students aged 13 to 19...
(laurel berry), and of poet laureate
Poet Laureate

A Poet Laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for State occasions and other government events....
. Some evidence from the medical literature supports Bay Laurel having these uses:

Antioxidative:
Analgesic and anti-inflammatory:
Anticonvulsant (antiepileptic):

In Chinese folklore

Chinese folklore

Chinese folklore includes songs, dances, puppetry, and tales. It often tells stories of human nature, historical or legendary events, love, and the supernatural, or stories explaining natural phenomena and distinctive landmarks....
there is a great laurel tree on the moon, and the Chinese

Chinese language

Chinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of language mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan languages of languages....
name for the laurel, , literally translates to "moon-laurel". This is the subject of a story of Wu Gang, a man who aspired to immortality and neglected his work. When the deities discovered this they sentenced Wu Gang to fell the laurel tree, whereupon he could join the ranks of the deities; however, since the laurel regenerated immediately when cut, it could never be felled. The phrase ("Wu Gang chops the tree") is sometimes used to refer to endless toil, analogous to Sisyphus

Sisyphus

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus , was a king punished in Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll down again, and to repeat this throughout eternity....
in Greek mythology.

The aromatic laurel leaves are used in many countries of central and southern europe to flavour stews, soups, meat dishes and even fish. They are used to season canned cucumbers or herring or added to give aroma to vinegar.

It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental plant

Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, Plant stem and bark....
in regions with mediterranean

Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is one that resembles the climate of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, which includes over half of the area with this climate type world-wide....
or oceanic climate

Oceanic climate

An oceanic climate is the climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of all the world's continents, and in southeastern Australia....
s, and as an indoor plant in colder regions.

Bay leaves are eaten by the caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of a member of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly phytophagous in food habit, with some species being entomophagous....
s of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
, for example the Eastern tiger swallowtail

Eastern tiger swallowtail

The Eastern tiger swallowtail, Papilio glaucus, is a large swallowtail butterfly. It is found in the Eastern United States, as far north as southern Vermont, and as far West as extreme Eastern Colorado....
(Papilio glaucus).

Chemical constituents

In the fruit there are essential oil

Essential oil

An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. They are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant material from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove....
s and fatty oils present. The fruit is pressed and water extracted to obtain these products. The fruit contains up to 30% fatty oils and about 1% essential oils (terpene

Terpene

Terpenes are a large and varied class of hydrocarbons, produced primarily by a wide variety of plants, particularly conifers, though also by some insects such as termites or swallowtail butterflies, which emit terpenes from their osmeterium....
s, sesquiterpene

Sesquiterpene

Sesquiterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of three isoprene units and have the molecular formula C15H24. Like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes may be acyclic or contain rings, including many unique combinations....
s, alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl Functional group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group....
s and ketone

Ketone

In organic chemistry, a ketone is a type of organic compound which contains a carbonyl group bonded to two other carbon atoms in the form:Neither of the substituents R1 and R2 may be equal to hydrogen ....
s).

The leaves contain about 1.3% essential oils (Ol. Lauri folii), consisting of 45% eucalyptol

Eucalyptol

Eucalyptol is a natural organic compound which is a colorless liquid. It is a cyclic ether and a monoterpenoid.Eucalyptol is also known by a variety of synonyms: 1,8-cineol, 1,8-cineole, limonene oxide, cajeputol, 1,8-epoxy-p-menthane, 1,8-oxido-p-menthane, eucalyptol, eucalyptole, 1,3,3-trimethyl-2-oxabicyclo[2,2,2]octane, cineol, cineole...
, 12% terpenes, 3-4% sesquiterpenes, 3% methyleugenol and other a- und ß-pinene

Pinene

The chemical compound pinene is a bicyclic terpene known as a monoterpene . There are two structural isomers found in nature: Alpha-Pinene and Beta-pinene....
s, phellandrene

Phellandrene

Phellandrene is the name for a pair of organic compounds that have a similar molecular structure and similar chemical properties. a-Phellandrene and ?-phellandrene are cyclic terpene and are double bond isomers....
, linalool

Linalool

Linalool is a naturally-occurring terpene alcohol chemical found in many flowers and spice plants with many commercial applications, the majority of which are based on its pleasant scent ....
, geraniol

Geraniol

Geraniol is a terpenoid and an alcohol. It is the primary part of rose oil, palmarosa oil, and citronella oil . It also occurs in small quantities in Pelargonium, lemon, and many other essential oils....
and terpineol

Terpineol

Terpineol is a naturally occurring monoterpene alcohol that has been isolated from a variety of sources such as cajuput oil, pine oil, and petitgrain oil....
.

Miscellaneous Information

Bay laurel leaves are used in the design of the 10 yen coin
10 yen coin

The is one denomination of Japanese yen.The obverse of the coin depicts the Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in, a Buddhism temple in Uji, Kyoto prefecture, with the kanji for "Japan" and "Ten Yen." The reverse shows the numerals "10" and the date of issue in kanji surrounded by bay laurel leaves....
in Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
.

In Greek mythology
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, the tree was first formed when the nymph
Nymph

In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of mythological entities in human form. They were typically associated with a particular location or landform....
Daphne changed into it to escape the lustful pursuit of the Olympian god Apollo; see Apollo and Daphne
Apollo and Daphne

Apollo and Daphne is a story from ancient Greek mythology, retold by Hellenistic and Ancient Rome authors in the form of an amorous Vignette ; Thomas Bulfinch drew on those late sources in the following manner:...
. Daphne is the Greek name for the tree.

The National Emblem of Greece
National emblem of Greece

The National Emblem of Greece consists of a blue escutcheon with a white cross totally surrounded by two Bay laurel branches. The emblem is painted or woven, mainly on the hats, uniforms and buttons of the military, the security forces etc....
consists of a blue escutcheon with a white cross totally surrounded by two laurel branches.

External links

: Laurus - Laurus nobilis (Bay Laurel)
: 3-oxo-eudesma-1,4(15),11(13)triene-12,6alpha-olide [Substance Name]
: anhydroperoxycostunolide [Substance Name]
: magnolialide [Substance Name]
: "Laurus"[MAJR]
: "anhydroperoxycostunolide" OR "magnolialide" OR "3-oxo-eudesma-1,4(15),11(13)triene-12,6alpha-olide"
"All Natural.Net - Encyclopedia of Herbs"