Laurus nohiUs, 

 THE NOBLE LAUREL-TREE. 



Synonymes. 



Laurus nohilis, 



Laurier commun, Laurier noble, Laurier 

 franc, Laurier sauce, Laurier a jam- 

 bons, Laurier d'ApoUon, 



Gemeiner Lorberbaum, 



Alloro, Lauro, Orbaco, 



Laurel, Sweet Bay, 



European Laurel, Sweet Bay, 



LiNN^us, Species Plantarum. 

 Maktyn, Miller's Dictionary. 

 Loudon, Arboretum Briianuicum. 



France. 



Germany. 



Italy. 



Britain. 



Anglo- America. 



Derivation. The specific name nobilia waa so called by LinniEus, because this tree was consecrated to priests, sacrifices, ana 

 heroes, in the ages of antiquity, and has been celebrated accordingly. 



Engravings. Blackwell, Herbal, pi. 175; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, vii., pi. 217; and the figure below. 



Specific Characters. Evergreen. Flowers 4-cleft. Sexes dioecious. Leaves lanceolate, veiny. Wtllde- 

 7I0TI!, Linnai Species Plantarum. 



Description. 



"Deep in the palace, of long growth, there stood 

 A laurel's trunk, a venerable wood; 

 Where riles divine were paid ; whose holy hair 

 Was kept and cut with superstitions care. 

 This plant, Lalinus, when his town he wall'd, 

 Then found, and from the tree Laurenlum call'd; 

 Aiid last, in honour of hie new alwde. 

 He vow'd the laurel to the laurel's god." 



VlROIL. 



!HE Laurns nobilis is a beautiful 



tree, or rather enormous shrub, 



sometimes growing to a height 

 m of sixty or seventy feet, but 

 niuays (ii.spiaying a tendency to throw up suckers; 

 and rart'ly, if ever, assuming a tree-hke character, 

 without the aid of art. The leaves, which are ever- 

 green, are of a firm texture, and are of an agreeable 

 smell, with an aromatic, snb-acid, slightly bitterish 

 taste. The llowers, which put forth in April or May, 

 are dioecious, or the male and female on different trees, 

 and are disposed in racetnes shorter than the leaves. 

 The male tree is the most showy, from the greater pro- 

 portion of yellow in tlie flowers. The berries are 

 ovate, fleshy, and of a very dark-purple, approaching 

 to black, and arc about the size of a small olive. In 

 winter, they are greedily devoured by the European 

 black bird. 



Varieties. The varieties recognized under this species, are as follows : 

 1. L. N. LATiFOMA, Loudon. Brond-lcnred Noble Laurel; Laurier a larsrs 

 fettilh'Sj of the French. This variety has leaves much broader and smoother 

 than those of the species. It is indigenous to Spain, Italy, and Asia, but is less 

 hardy than several other kinds. 



