This page is about Bay, Laurus nobilis, its medicinal and other properties and place in folklore.
Also known as Grecian Laurel, Sweet Bay, Bay Laurel and True Laurel, the evergreen Bay tree, with its shiny, strongly aromatic leaves, is native to Southern Europe but has been a staple in British gardens for about 400 years, and in recent years has been seen even in cities as a ‘lollipop’ in pots beside front doors. The creamy white flowers, from May onwards, are pollinated by bees, but each tree has only male or female flowers, so both must be grown to produce berries. Hardy, and able to resist strong wind, it grows successfully in most conditions, but young trees can be affected by severe frost.
Medicinal Uses
Bay, and others in the large Laurel plant family, are used medicinally across the globe, including in Ayurvedic and Chinese herbal practice. The plant’s medical credentials include gastrointestinal, respiratory and cardiovascular applications.
Modern herbal medicine includes bay in treatments for coughs and colds, diabetes, pain relief, digestive disorders, and, as a calming herbal tea, for anxiety and stress.
Scientific research confirms the presence of compounds that reduce glucose and cholesterol levels, thus making bay a prospective treatment for diabetes and heart disease. Further studies are investigating its healing and anti-inflammatory properties; while others are looking into whether it may be beneficial in finding remedies for kidney stones and epilepsy.
Culinary Uses
An integral ingredient of the bouquet garni, and a popular flavouring ingredient in many Mediterranean and other European dishes, the leaves can be used fresh, or dried (useful for storage – though they lose their savour after about a year in the jar). An essential oil for food use can also be extracted from the leaves.
Other Uses
Household – the essential oil from the berries has been used in soap making, and the dried leaves are said to be effective as an insect repellent. It was commonly used as a strewing herb in earlier times.
Agriculture and Horticulture – the dried leaves have been used to protect stored grain and pulses from weevils; and as a companion plant to protect against infestations of insect pests.
Myth and Magic
An ancient Greek legend says that a beautiful virgin nymph called Daphne was pursued by the madly infatuated god Apollo, begged to be saved from his advances, and, as tends to happen in such ancient Greek cases, was transformed into a tree – the laurel (the Greek name for the tree was Δάφνη = daphne*). Some versions of the story say she was softened by Apollo’s remorse, and made him a laurel wreath to wear. Others say he, unable to have the girl, took instead a branch of the tree and made himself a wreath. As an added compliment to the young woman, he decreed the leaves would never lose their beauty, which explains the evergreen habit of the tree. Thus, in ancient Greek mythology, Bay and Apollo are inextricably linked.
It was also long thought that bay was essential to the rites when consulting the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle was the priestess of Apollo, who spoke her cryptic prophecies while in a trance, exhibiting signs of ‘divine frenzy’, attributed to inhaling the fumes of leaves burnt in her presence. Recent research now proposes that it may have been another local tree, Oleander, which would bring on such symptoms, the confusion having arisen from the fact that oleander was often previously grouped under the generic term ‘laurel’. Other people say it was in fact bay berries, as they are narcotic stimulants. You choose!
At the Pythian Games in Delphi a laurel wreath was awarded to the victor; and it was frequently used in other ancient sporting competitions, (although at the Olympics, as those games honoured Zeus, the wreath was of olive branches), and the common phrase ‘resting on one’s laurels’ implies that one is relying on past achievements for continued fame. Bay being linked with gods and successful people, at various times people believed it would prevent lightning strikes; protect against accidents; and, even as late as the15thand 16thcenturies in Britain, that it would reduce the power of witches and demons.
*So why don’t we call the tree Daphne? Ovid, being a Roman, spoke and wrote Latin, so he used the Latin name for the tree – Laurus (from which we get the word Laurel), and as the Roman Empire came after, and spread further, than the Greek one, it may have had more influence. And to add to the confusion, there is a shrub called Daphne, but that’s another story.
Acknowledgements Thanks for much information to the following:
www.PFAF.org
www.herbal-supplement-resource.com
www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov
www.greekmythology.com
www.organics.com
www.healthline.com
www.RHS.org.uk
www.davesgarden.com
