Bay Laurel Tree Pictures, and Detailed Information on Bay Laurel Trees
Welcome to our bay laurel tree pictures page. On this page you will find lots of nice pictures of bay laurel trees. You will also find a lot of wonderful information on bay laurel trees, including information about the bay laurel tree species, planting information, and much more. This is valuable and useful information that can help you to learn more about the bay laurel tree.
To view each bay laurel tree picture in full size just click on the pictures. Enjoy the pictures.
Here is some detailed information on bay laurel trees.
The Bay Laurel, also known as Sweet Bay, Bay Tree, True Laurel, Grecian Laurel, Laurel Tree, or simply Laurel, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glossy leaves, native to the Mediterranean region.
The laurel is dioecious (unisexual), with male and female flowers on separate plants. Each flower is pale yellow-green, about 1 cm diameter, and they are borne in pairs together beside a leaf. The leaves are 6 to 12 cm long and 2 to 4 cm broad, with a characteristic finely serrated and wrinkled margin. The fruit is a small, shiny black berry about 1 cm long.
The plant is the source of several popular spices, used in a wide variety of recipes, particularly among Mediterranean cuisines. Most commonly, the aromatic leaves are used, fresh or dried. For cooking purposes, whole bay leaves have a long shelf-life of about one year, under normal temperature and humidity.
Bay leaves are used almost exclusively as flavour agents during the food preparation stage: even when cooked, whole bay leaves can be sharp and abrasive enough to damage internal organs, so they are typically removed from dishes before serving, unless used as a simple garnish.
Ground bay leaves, however, can be ingested safely and are often used in soups and stocks, as well as being a common addition to a Bloody Mary. Dried laurel berries and pressed leaf oil can both be used as robust spices, and even the wood can be burnt for strong smoke flavouring.
Bay laurel was used to fashion the laurel wreath of ancient Greece, a symbol of high status. A wreath of bay laurels was given as the prize at the Pythian Games because the games were in honor of Apollo, and the laurel was one of his symbols: the laurel tree was first formed when the nymph Daphne was changed into a laurel tree because of Apollo's pursuit of her. Daphne is the Greek name for the tree.
The symbolism carried over to Roman culture which held the laurel as a symbol of victory. It is also the source of the words baccalaureate and poet laureate, as well as the expressions "assume the laurel" and "resting on one's laurels".
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