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Laurel bush
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Posted by ughman NW Washington (My Page) on Mon, May 21, 07 at 23:01
| My house is surrounded by laurel bushes. How can I tell if these are the culinary type that produce bay leaves??? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Laurel bush
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| If they're bushes, they're not Laurus nobilis. Bay grows into a HUGE tree (eventually). The only real way to identify plants with any accuracy is to take a good, fresh cutting (preferably with flowers and/or fruit) to a nursery, a university or college with horticultural or botanical facilities, or to a botanical garden, or your local agricultural authority. You might have to pay to have the sample identified. I think it's worth it. Except for Laurus nobilis, all other laurels are poisonous. Don't even think about using it until you know one way or another. |
RE: Laurel bush
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| It COULD be Umbellularia californica, a western tree often mistaken for the real bay tree. THAT's edible. But as Daisy says... get it checked before you eat it! eeek! don't be a test person! |
RE: Laurel bush
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| We have a local chef who has pruned his culinary Bays into a hedge along his garden walk, so it is possible. |
RE: Laurel bush
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| If you tear a leaf across does it have a strong spicy scent? If not is definitley NOT bay. But if it does have a scent it is still not necessarily bay. |
RE: Laurel bush
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| True, bay can be kept trimmed to a decent size, even as a topiary. I was assuming these are naturally-occurring plants, uncared-for, and of mature age. Given those assumptions, they're not likely to be bay, I reckon. |
RE: Laurel bush
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| My bay tree is still bush-sized because I trim it. I think flora's suggestion of sniffing the leaf is the best bet, and if you can't quite remember the smell of bay leaves, just buy a few dried ones for comparison before trying this. |
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