Laurus ()
Description
They are slow-growing, large, evergreen aromatic shrubs or trees with alternate, ovate leaves and insignificant yellow male and female flowers borne on separate plants (
dioecious). They are frost-hardy but in temperate zones they require a sheltered spot in full sun that is not subject to prolonged freezing. Plants in pots can be moved into a cold greenhouse during the winter months.
Species
The number of species in the genus has not yet been fully resolved.
[ Three species are currently accepted:][
]
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Laurus azorica, – Azores laurel. Native to the Azores.
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Laurus nobilis – bay laurel, true laurel, or sweet bay. Native to the Mediterranean region. Used as an ornamental plant and culinary herb (one type of bay leaf) used in Mediterranean style dishes. It was also the original source of the laurel wreath of ancient Greece.
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Laurus novocanariensis – native to Madeira and the Canary Islands. Formerly included in L. azorica.
Fossil history
Fossils dating from before the Pleistocene show that Laurel forest containing species of Laurus were formerly distributed more widely around the Mediterranean and North Africa, when the climate was more humid and mild than at present.
Further reading
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Arroyo-García, R., Martínez-Zapater, J.M., Fernández Prieto, J.A., & Álvarez-Arbesú R. (2001). AFLP evaluation of genetic similarity among laurel populations. Euphytica 122 (1): 155-164.
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Barbero, M., Benabid, A., Peyre, C. & Quezel, P. (1981). Sur la presence au Maroc de Laurus azorica (Seub.) Franco. Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 37 (2): 467-472. Available online (pdf file; in French).
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Costa, J. C., Capelo, J., Jardim, R., Sequeira, M., (2004). Catálogo Florístico do Arquipélago da Madeira. Quercetea 6, 187-200.
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Mabberley, D.J (1997). The Plant Book: a Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants. Second edition, pp. 393–394.
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