killerplants.com | What's in a Name? | Free Newsletter Signup

What are laurel leaves?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

October 1, 2004

Killer Savings: Gurney's Seed and Nursery -$20 off—>Click here.

The History Channel - DVDs under $20—>Click here.

Museum Store Company—>Click here.

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

Suggested Reading—>Click here.

Killer Picks: Julius Caesar's Rome, Passion Flower & more—>Click here.

Apollo's bay or laurel (Laurus nobilis Linnaeus) is the source of the culinary spice, bay leaf; a seasoning added whole to cooking food, then removed and tossed away before serving. Bay leaf is common in kitchens coming down through the ages from its home along the northern Mediterranean and Asia Minor.

According to Pliny the Elder, wreaths upon the brows of victors began with Livia Drusilla, the wife of Caesar Augustus. Legend says a gift was dropped in Livia's lap by an eagle, "a hen of remarkable whiteness...it was holding in its beak a laurel branch bearing its berries." The hen and her descendents lived at The Poultry, the country mansion of the Caesars on the Tiber River.
advertisement

Triumphs of Caesar by Andrea Mantegna
Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com

The laurel branch was planted and propagated, "...the laurel grove so begun has thriven in a marvelous way....Afterwards the Emperor when going in a triumph held a laurel branch from the original tree in his hand and wore a wreath of its foliage on his head, and subsequently every one of the ruling Caesars did the same; and the custom was established of planting the branches they had held....

"The laurel itself is a bringer of peace....With the Romans especially it is used as a harbinger of rejoicing and of victory, accompanying dispatches and decorating the spears and javelins of the soldiery and adorning the generals' rods of office. From this tree a branch is deposited in the lap of Jupiter...whenever a fresh victory has brought rejoicing, and this is not because the laurel is continually green,...but because it flourishes in the greatest beauty on Mount Parnassus and consequently is...dear to Apollo...another reason...because it was there that Brutus won freedom for the people by kissing the famous plot of earth that bore the laurel...and another reason is that the laurel alone of all the shrubs planted by man and received into our houses is never struck by lightning." (Book XV, Natural History, trans. H. Rackham, 1945, Loeb Classical, reprinted 2000)

We speak of laurels, of distinction and honors acquired, but actual crowning with laurel wreaths dwindled with the Renaissance. The berry of the laurel, bacca laurus, or baccalaureate is the distinction bestowed when one is ready for apprenticeship to master an art or science.

Even bachelor came down from Old French, bachelier, and Middle Latin, baccalaris and baccalarius. The bachelier was a probationary stage of knighthood, a vassal (tenant farmer) who rode into battle following the banner of a knight. By proving himself with spirit, loyalty, and bravery, the bachelier attained certain rights granted by his 'landlord'—education, better food and housing, and his own banner of leadership. And he was ever so eligible for marriage. (The 1889 Century Unabridged Dictionary Online, Global Language Resources, Inc., 2001-2004.)

Arboles Ornamentales is a beautiful website with numerous photographs of trees. To view close-ups of the leaves, flowers, and berries of Apollo's laurel, click on the link:

http://www.arbolesornamentales.com/Laurusnobilis.htm

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

Sweet Leaf Plant

Gurney Seed and Nursery®

The Natural Sugar Substitute.—Glossy foliage just 10 inches tall, sprinkled with snowy flowers. Dried leaves are 300 times sweeter than sugar. Bring in for the winter. Click here to get $20 off your first order at Gurneys! [More House & Patio Plants!]

The History Channel Presents: Julius Caesar's Rome

The History Channel®

2 disc-set includes 5 bonus documentaries.
The definitive chronicle of one of Rome's greatest emperor.

Experience documentary history at its best and bear witness to the rise and fall of an empire with THE HISTORY CHANNEL® PRESENTS: JULIUS CAESAR'S ROME.

Throughout history, civilizations have come and gone, but few have altered the world as immensely as the Roman Empire. From its legendary founding by Romulus and Remus to its magnificent takeover of the Mediterranean to its eventual fall amidst the rise of Christianity, the many lasting influences of the Roman civilization remain with us today.

Included in this 2-volume DVD set are the following programs:

BIOGRAPHY®: JULIUS CAESAR: MASTER OF THE ROMAN WORLD—From ambition to betrayal, Biography presents the story of Rome's greatest emperor.
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA—Relive the timeless love story between a Roman general and an Egyptian queen.
THE REPUBLIC OF ROME—From kingship to republic, an empire is born and the foundations of modern democracy launched.
THE AGE OF EMPERORS—From the brilliance of Augustus to the madness of Nero, examine the legacies of godlike men. BUILDING AN EMPIRE--Follow the travels of Hadrian, visit the ruins of Pompeii and revisit the "Golden Age" of Rome.
THE ENDURING LEGACY—Amidst the rise of Christianity, Rome is plundered, but its place in history will never die.

2 Volume Set 322+ Minutes The History Channel Presents: Julius Caesar's Rome DVD set, Click here.

Fruit Trees, Dwarf

Gurney Seed and Nursery®

Flowers and Fragrance, Too! Evergreen foliage, sweetly scented flowers and edible fruit in one! Can be moved outdoors in summer, so the bees take care of pollination for you. Varieties grow from 2-5 feet tall, with banana on the tall side and pomegranate and fig smaller. Pick citrus in 1-3 years, figs and pomegranates in 2-4 years and bananas in 3-5 years. Click here - $20 off your first order at Gurneys!

[More House & Patio Plants!]
[More Fruit & Nut Trees!]

Passion Flower

Gurney Seed and Nursery®

Lush Twining Tendrils

According to legend, commemorates the Crucifixion--white flowers wearing a spiked crown of violet filaments.

Needs a large pot, benefits from trellis supports. Click here - $20 off your first order at Gurneys!

[More House & Patio Plants!]
[More Ground Covers & Vines!]

Rome: Engineering an Empire DVD

The History Channel®

Exclusive never-before-seen footage shot on a diving expedition in the water channels underneath the Colosseum.
Extensive state-of-the-art CGI animation.

The Roman Empire. Once an insignificant pastoral settlement, it rose to become the most powerful empire in world history over the course of just a few hundred years. It has left a permanent imprint of its material and cultural achievements. At the top of this list: its engineering feats.

Rome wasn't built in a day - but this exclusive DVD set will rebuild it in a matter of hours. The Romans built magnificent palaces and colossal stadiums that dwarfed anything built previously. They left an imprint on technology that looms large over all that we create, and their advancements in engineering-arches, barrel vaults, domed ceilings, and water distribution systems-still influence modern construction.

ROME: ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE is a remarkable special-presentation that chronicles the spectacular and sordid history of the Roman Empire from the rise of Julius Caesar in 55 BC to its eventual fall around 537 AD. Detailing the remarkable engineering feats that set Rome apart from the rest of the ancient world, the program features extensive state-of-the-art CGI animation that will give viewers the chance to see Rome's greatest structures the way the ancient Romans saw them.

The insights of engineers, archaeologists and historians from around the globe add rare depth to segments on Hadrian's Wall, Caesar's Bridge, the aqueducts, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Baths of Caracalla and more. We'll go inside the remains of Emperor Nero's lavish Golden Palace for a rare look at how one of Rome's most notorious megalomaniacs lived. The special also features exclusive never-before-seen footage shot on a diving expedition in the water channels underneath the Colosseum -- channels once used to flood the arena for bloody mock naval battles.

The wonders of ancient Rome come to life as never before! Rome: Engineering an Empire DVD, Click here.