Lauras nobilis, 
THE NOBLE LAUREL-TREE. 
Synonymes. 
Laurus nobilis, 
Laurier commun, Laurier noble, Laurier 
franc, Laurier sauce, Laurier a jam- 
bons, Laurier d'Apollon, 
Gemeiner Lorberbaum, 
Alloro, Lauro, Orbaco, 
Laurel, Sweet Bay, 
European Laurel, Sweet Bay, 
Linnaeus, Species Plantarum. 
Martyn, Miller's Dictionary. 
Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum. 
France. 
Germany. 
Italy. 
Britain. 
Anglo-America. 
Derivation. The specific name nobilis was so called by Linnreus, because this tree was consecrated to priests, sacrifices, and 
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. Wdldr- 
now, Linncei Species Plantarum. 
Description. 
" Deep in the palace, of long growth, there stood 
A laurel's trunk, a venerable wood; 
Where rites divine were paid ; whose holy hair 
Was kept and cut with superstitious care. 
This plant, Latinus, when his town he wall'd, 
Then found, and from the tree Laurentum call'd; 
And last, in honour of his new abode, 
He vow'd the laurel to the laurel's god." 
Virgil. 
*t52fiHE Laurus nobilis is a beautiful 
* R" r 1 -el tree, or rather enormous shrub, 
J gl sometimes growing to a height 
W0$*m of sixty or seventy feet, but 
always displaying a tendency to throw up suckers; 
and rarely, if ever, assuming a tree-like 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, sub-acid, slightly bitterish 
taste. The flowers, which put forth in April or May, 
are dioecious, or the male and female on different trees, 
and are disposed in racemes shorter than the leaves. 
The male tree is the most showy, from the greater pro- 
portion of yellow in the flowers. The berries are 
ovate, fleshy, and of a very dark-purple, approaching 
to black, and are 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. latifolia, Loudon. Broad-leaved Noble Laurel; Laurier a ktrsea 
fetulles, 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 Lett 
hardy than several other kinds. 
