"Stan Goodman" wrote in message
news:uViCr8LlbtmJ-pn2-KCY6FdUPlqOq@poblano...
Off-topic, of course, but connected with flora. Please forgive me.

Does anyone recognize what plant is being used for the wreaths with which
the Olympic medal winners are being crowned? It is certainly not laurel,
which is the traditional source of the branches for this purpose.

Actually, laurel is an edible plant, good in stews and soups, so this is
not
as off-topic as I first thought.

Ummm... as far as I know only a few laurels are edible - bay laurel being
one of them (or the part that we Brits would call Bay leaves is edible,
though I seem to see it used to flavour the dish then to be taken out before
eating), the rest being quite poisonous. So I am told. I certainly have been
told to keep my dawgs from chewing the laurel hedge I have in my fenced off
part of the garden, anyway.

Could anyone confirm or deny ?


Rachael

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 20:16:53 UTC, "Rachael of Nex, the Wiccan Rat"
opined:

"Stan Goodman" wrote in message
news:uViCr8LlbtmJ-pn2-KCY6FdUPlqOq@poblano...
Off-topic, of course, but connected with flora. Please forgive me.

Does anyone recognize what plant is being used for the wreaths with which
the Olympic medal winners are being crowned? It is certainly not laurel,
which is the traditional source of the branches for this purpose.

Actually, laurel is an edible plant, good in stews and soups, so this is
not
as off-topic as I first thought.

Ummm... as far as I know only a few laurels are edible - bay laurel being
one of them (or the part that we Brits would call Bay leaves is edible,
though I seem to see it used to flavour the dish then to be taken out before
eating), the rest being quite poisonous. So I am told. I certainly have been
told to keep my dawgs from chewing the laurel hedge I have in my fenced off
part of the garden, anyway.

Could anyone confirm or deny ?

I have been told that some laurels are toxic, but the only one I have seen
here is L. Nobilis, which I have never heard accused of toxicity. It's very
well represented in the wild fauna, and makes a good planting.

If you cook a soup or stew with the leaves in it, there would seem to be
little point in removing the leaves when you are done cooking; pretty much
anything soluble has diffused from the leaves into the soup/stew. On the
other hand, the texture of the leaves doesn't invite eating, so there is
also little to be gained by leaving them in.

I get laurel leaves fresh from the trees by my house. In recipes that call
for one or two leaves, I regularly put five; I like the taste. I have been
doing this for at least forty years with no detectable effect.

--
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel

Saddam is gone. Ceterum, censeo Arafat esse delendam.

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 20:16:53 UTC, "Rachael of Nex, the Wiccan Rat"
opined:

"Stan Goodman" wrote in message
news:uViCr8LlbtmJ-pn2-KCY6FdUPlqOq@poblano...
Off-topic, of course, but connected with flora. Please forgive me.

Does anyone recognize what plant is being used for the wreaths with which
the Olympic medal winners are being crowned? It is certainly not laurel,
which is the traditional source of the branches for this purpose.

Actually, laurel is an edible plant, good in stews and soups, so this is
not
as off-topic as I first thought.

Ummm... as far as I know only a few laurels are edible - bay laurel being
one of them (or the part that we Brits would call Bay leaves is edible,
though I seem to see it used to flavour the dish then to be taken out before
eating), the rest being quite poisonous. So I am told. I certainly have been
told to keep my dawgs from chewing the laurel hedge I have in my fenced off
part of the garden, anyway.

Could anyone confirm or deny ?

I have been told that some laurels are toxic, but the only one I have seen
here is L. Nobilis, which I have never heard accused of toxicity. It's very
well represented in the wild fauna, and makes a good planting.

If you cook a soup or stew with the leaves in it, there would seem to be
little point in removing the leaves when you are done cooking; pretty much
anything soluble has diffused from the leaves into the soup/stew. On the
other hand, the texture of the leaves doesn't invite eating, so there is
also little to be gained by leaving them in.

I get laurel leaves fresh from the trees by my house. In recipes that call
for one or two leaves, I regularly put five; I like the taste. I have been
doing this for at least forty years with no detectable effect.

--
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel

Saddam is gone. Ceterum, censeo Arafat esse delendam.

writes:

Ummm... as far as I know only a few laurels are edible - bay laurel being
one of them (or the part that we Brits would call Bay leaves is edible,
though I seem to see it used to flavour the dish then to be taken out
before
eating), the rest being quite poisonous. So I am told. I certainly have
been
told to keep my dawgs from chewing the laurel hedge I have in my fenced
off
part of the garden, anyway.

Could anyone confirm or deny ?

Rachael

==========================

Bay laurel is used for cooking.

I can tell you, however, that some laurel is poisonous. Sadly, many years
ago during an extreme snowstorm, the branches of our laurel hedge dropped
down over the cage of our son's beloved rabbit which nibbled on the
leaves. She died shortly thereafter. We had been told it was poisonous
but it is so commonly used for hedges that I wondered though we thought
the cage was far enough away that it couldn't affect the rabbit. We even
positioned the cage so that leaves couldn't fall into the cage.

I have purchased bay leaves for cooking for years. Now I have my own
two-foot high tree and enjoy the leaves often as well as including them in
herb baskets given to friends.

Just my experience.

Glenna

writes:

Ummm... as far as I know only a few laurels are edible - bay laurel being
one of them (or the part that we Brits would call Bay leaves is edible,
though I seem to see it used to flavour the dish then to be taken out
before
eating), the rest being quite poisonous. So I am told. I certainly have
been
told to keep my dawgs from chewing the laurel hedge I have in my fenced
off
part of the garden, anyway.

Could anyone confirm or deny ?

Rachael

==========================

Bay laurel is used for cooking.

I can tell you, however, that some laurel is poisonous. Sadly, many years
ago during an extreme snowstorm, the branches of our laurel hedge dropped
down over the cage of our son's beloved rabbit which nibbled on the
leaves. She died shortly thereafter. We had been told it was poisonous
but it is so commonly used for hedges that I wondered though we thought
the cage was far enough away that it couldn't affect the rabbit. We even
positioned the cage so that leaves couldn't fall into the cage.

I have purchased bay leaves for cooking for years. Now I have my own
two-foot high tree and enjoy the leaves often as well as including them in
herb baskets given to friends.

Just my experience.

Glenna

On the
other hand, the texture of the leaves doesn't invite eating, so there is
also little to be gained by leaving them in.

People have been known to choke on them, so that seems like a pretty
good reason to remove them.


You certainly could choke on them, but there are worse things - the center stem
of the leaves remains hard, and can stab through skin. You might swallow one
unscathed, only to end up with internal damage. The best thing to do with them
is either tie them into a bouquet with string or into a cheesecloth so that you
can just remove them after cooking. If you are going to put them directly into
a dish, you should break them in half, which exposes more of the leaf and
lessens the chance of choking on one.


-=epm=-

In matters of truth and justice,
there is no difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
- Albert Einstein

On the
other hand, the texture of the leaves doesn't invite eating, so there is
also little to be gained by leaving them in.

People have been known to choke on them, so that seems like a pretty
good reason to remove them.


You certainly could choke on them, but there are worse things - the center stem
of the leaves remains hard, and can stab through skin. You might swallow one
unscathed, only to end up with internal damage. The best thing to do with them
is either tie them into a bouquet with string or into a cheesecloth so that you
can just remove them after cooking. If you are going to put them directly into
a dish, you should break them in half, which exposes more of the leaf and
lessens the chance of choking on one.


-=epm=-

In matters of truth and justice,
there is no difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
- Albert Einstein

You're correct - it's the Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) - not the olive.

Nope. The wreaths being used in the current Olympics are made from olive leaves
from a grove of trees that are supposed to be the oldest in Greece.

The Romans did the laurel thing, not the Greeks.
-=epm=-

In matters of truth and justice,
there is no difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
- Albert Einstein

You're correct - it's the Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) - not the olive.

Nope. The wreaths being used in the current Olympics are made from olive leaves
from a grove of trees that are supposed to be the oldest in Greece.

The Romans did the laurel thing, not the Greeks.
-=epm=-

In matters of truth and justice,
there is no difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
- Albert Einstein

I recently bought a small bay laurel. Now that I know "The death of a bay
tree in a household garden was a portent of great
evil for the home" I'd like to make sure I keep it healthy. Any suggestions?

EvelynMcH" wrote in message
...
Does anyone recognize what plant is being used for the wreaths with which
the Olympic medal winners are being crowned? It is certainly not laurel,
which is the traditional source of the branches for this purpose.

The wreath is actually an olive wreath, made of olive leaves, like those
used
in the early olympics by the Greeks. The wreaths are proving so popular
that
there is talk that they may be used in future Olympics.

The Romans also adopted the custom of bestowing wreaths for meritorious
service, and they used often laurel, which was supposed to be a symbol of
the
god Saturn and of the Caesars. The laurel they used is a variety of bay
laurel,
the stuff of the kitchen, which was highly prized for medicine and
cooking,
even then. The death of a bay tree in a household garden was a portent of
great
evil for the home, btw.

(Did not pay to be a lousy gardener in Roman times!)
-=epm=-

In matters of truth and justice,
there is no difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
- Albert Einstein

I recently bought a small bay laurel. Now that I know "The death of a bay
tree in a household garden was a portent of great
evil for the home" I'd like to make sure I keep it healthy. Any suggestions?

EvelynMcH" wrote in message
...
Does anyone recognize what plant is being used for the wreaths with which
the Olympic medal winners are being crowned? It is certainly not laurel,
which is the traditional source of the branches for this purpose.

The wreath is actually an olive wreath, made of olive leaves, like those
used
in the early olympics by the Greeks. The wreaths are proving so popular
that
there is talk that they may be used in future Olympics.

The Romans also adopted the custom of bestowing wreaths for meritorious
service, and they used often laurel, which was supposed to be a symbol of
the
god Saturn and of the Caesars. The laurel they used is a variety of bay
laurel,
the stuff of the kitchen, which was highly prized for medicine and
cooking,
even then. The death of a bay tree in a household garden was a portent of
great
evil for the home, btw.

(Did not pay to be a lousy gardener in Roman times!)
-=epm=-

In matters of truth and justice,
there is no difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
- Albert Einstein