anne martinez

8/10/2019 Anne Martinez

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LAUREL



Scientific Latin name

• Laurus nobilis



Vulgar name in mother languages

• Laurel (spanish)

• Ereinotza (basque)

• Laurel (english)



Homero Odisea IX 186

ἑξῆσ δ᾽ ἑηόμενοι πολιὴν ἅλα τφπτον ἐρετμοῖσ.

ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ τὸν χῶρον ἀικόμε᾽ ἐγγὺσ ἐόντα,

ἔνα δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἐςχατιῇ ςπζοσ εἴδομεν ἄγχιαλάςςθσ,

ὑψθλόν, δάφνῃσι κατθρεζσ. ἔνα δὲ πολλὰ

μῆλ᾽, ὄιζσ τε καὶ αἶγεσ, ἰαφεςκον: περὶ δ᾽ αὐλὴ

ὑψθλὴ δζδμθτο κατωρυχζεςςι λίοιςι

μακρῇςίν τε πίτυςςιν ἰδὲ δρυςὶν ὑψικόμοιςιν.



Drawing of the plant



Mythological symbolism of the plant

• Once, Apollo mocked Eros, the God of

love, and he insulted him. Eros tooktwo arrows, one of gold and one of

lead. With the leaden shaft, to incite

hatred, he shot the nymph Daphne and

with the golden one, to incite love, he

shot Apollo through the heart. Apollofell in love with Daphne. He was alwaysfollowing her, but she escaped of him.

They were evenly matched in the race

until Eros intervened and helped Apollo

gain upon Daphne. Seeing that Apollo

was bound to catch her, she called her

father to perserve her virginity: Helpme, Peneus! Open the earth toenclose me, or change my form, butlet me be free of this man now! And

she became into a tree.



Mythological symbolism of the plant

• Bay laurel was also the

symbol of triumph.

Military leaders sent a

branch of laurel to their

Emperor to let him know

they had won the battle.

•

A hat made of laurel wasalso used to signify a

person was a genius.



Uses of the plant

• To cook

• Medicinal use



To cook

• The plant is the source ofseveral popular herbs andone spice used in a wide varietyof recipes, particularly in theMediterranean.

• Even when cooked, whole bay

leaves can be sharp andabrasive enough to damageinternal organs, so they aretypically removed from dishesbefore serving, unless used as asimple garnish.

• Bay leaves are used almostexclusively as flavor agentsduring the food preparationstage, and are often usedin soups and stocks.



Medicinal use

• Aqueous extracts of bay laurel can

also be used as a reasonable salve for

open wounds.

• In massage therapy, the essential oil

of bay laurel is reputed to alleviate

arthritis and rheumatism, while

in aromatherapy, it is used to treatearaches and high blood pressure.

• In the world of medicine, it doesnt

get much more ancient than bay

laurel. Native to the Mediteranean,

the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans allused this plant to stimulate healing. It

was especially used in bruising and

tissue damage, applied externally.



Risks

• Some members of the laurel family, as well as the unrelated but

visually similar mountain laurel and cherry laurel, have leaves

that are poisonous to humans and livestock. While these plants

are not sold anywhere for culinary use, their visual similarity to

bay leaves has led to the oft-repeated belief that bay leaves

should be removed from food after cooking because they are

poisonous. This is not true; bay leaves may be eaten without

toxic effect. However, they remain very stiff even after

thorough cooking, and if swallowed whole or in large pieces,they may pose a risk of scratching the digestive tract or even

causing choking. Because of this, most recipes that use bay

leaves will recommend their removal after the cooking process

has finished.

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