Laurus nobilis or bay laurel

Worldwide, many other kinds of plants in diverse families are called “bay” or “laurel” generally due to similarity of foliage or aroma to Laurus nobilis. The California bay laurel is Umbellularia, also in the family Lauraceae.

Laurus nobilis is an evergreen plant belonging to the Lauraceae family, native to Southern Europe and the Mediterranean area.

It is important to use only Laurus Nobilis if planning to use leaves for cooking. Other plants that have the same common name may not be edible. Additional varieties of Laurus nobilis include:
*Laurus nobilis Angustifolia (has narrow leaves, also known as willow-leaf laurel)
*Laurus nobilis Aurea (new foliage is yellow)
*Laurus nobilis Undulate (edges of leaves are rippled or wavy)

The leaves have been used, in Iranian folk medicine, to treat epilepsy, neuralgia, and parkinsonism. Leaves and fruits have been reported to possess aromatic, stimulant, and narcotic properties.

Laurus nobilis is a plant of industrial importance, used in foods, drugs, and cosmetics. The dried leaves and essential oils are used extensively in the food industry for seasoning of meat products, soups and fishes. Its antimicrobial and insecticidal activities are other factor for which bay is used in the food industry as a food preservative.
Laurus nobilis or bay laurel

Bay Laurel

Bay Laurel
Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis, Lauracae) also known as Sweet Bay is a tree which is cultivated throughout Turkey, Israel, Russia, Italy and France although, increasingly, commercial crops of leaves is being exported from Greece and Mexico. A similar crop is found in China but the variety is different and the leaves contain an essential oil having a marked phenolics odor not unlike that of West Indian bay.

The leaves yield about 2% essential oil when steam distilled. The leaves are 6–12 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with a characteristic finely serrated and wrinkled margin. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants; each flower is pale yellow-green, about 1 cm diameter, borne in pairs together beside a leaf (Herb). The fruit is a small black berry about 1 cm long, containing a single seed.

Component of the essential oil
Alpha–pinene
cineole (45 – 50%)

Beta–phellandrene
1- linalool
1-alpha-terpineol
geraniol
euogenol
methyl eugenol
geranyl and eugenyl esters

Bay Laurel

Sweet bay

Sweet bay or Laurus nobilis, is a tree which is cultivated throughout Turkey, Israel, Russia, Italy, and France.

A similar tree is found in China but the variety is different and leaves contain an essential oil having a mark phenolic odor not unlike that of Pimento racemosa.

The leaves yield above 2% essential oil when steam distilled.  Known as laurel by the Greeks who wore it as a garland round their heads.

Also known as bay laurel and bay leaves, as a herb the they are use to flavor soups, stew, shellfish, sauces, marinades, poultry and fish dishes.
Sweet bay