"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...


Er, not quite. It seems that the difference is more complicated than
that, and it is unclear whether "Russian" versus "French" tarragon is
different varieties or different growth (as normal ivy versus tree
ivy). Tarragon does vary between tasteless and strongly flavoured,
but the cause of the difference is, I believe, unknown. In particular,
"Russian" tarragon can develop into "French" tarragon after some years
of growth, and "French" tarragon can revert to "Russian" tarragon.
I tried chasing this issue down some years back, and eventually gave
up.


I've been looking (casually) at various reference books including the Oxford
Book of Food Plants and Davidson's Oxford Companion to Food (both of which
are the type of book that one opens to check one thing and find that one is
still reading it an hour later). There appear to be 2 species: Artemisia
dracunculus (French) and A. dracunculoides (Russian). I can see why you
gave up as none of the references is definitive. What is needed is a
botanist/gourmet to sort out the confusion{:-)

The difference between true (Grecian) bay, Californian bay and most
others is that they are unrelated plants with similar appearances and
tastes. The similarity of appearance is not surprising, as it is a
very common one for dry-terrain shrubs. True bay is Laurus nobilis,
Californian bay is Umbellularia californica, and there are others.

Interestingly, U. californica is also known as the Oregon Myrtle and in that
state, apparently, there are numerous roadside stalls selling knick-knacks
made from the wood. The selling point is the myth that it only grows there
and in the Holy Land (absolute nonsense, of course). I acquired a plank of
it some years ago and it is lovely stuff to work. Fresh-cut surfaces give
off a lemony smell.
Graham