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Family Lauraceae
Laurus nobilis
The Bay is the true Laurel, of whose leaves and
berries the wreaths were made in ancient days
for poets and conquerors.
Naturally it is more of a shrub than a tree, for
though it often attains a height of sixty feet,
it persists in sending up so many suckers that
the tree-like character is lost.
The Bay is a native of Southern Europe, whence
it was introduced at some date prior to 1562.
The evergreen leaves are lance-shaped, without
toothed edges, and arranged alternately on the
branchlets.
Not all the trees produce the berries, for the
sexes are in distinct individuals, and all the
white or yellowish four-parted flowers on one
tree are stamen-bearing, whilst on another individual
they all bear ovaries and no stamens.
The flowers will be found in April or May.
The berries, at first green, ultimately become
of a dark purple hue, and are ripe in October.
The Bay is grown chiefly as a shrubbery ornament,
and can only survive our winters out-of-doors
in the South of England.
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