How do you recognise Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis)?

Leaf

Agnieszka Kwiecień, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Bay laurel

Laurus nobilis L.

Also known as: Bay tree, Sweet bay, Bay

Family: Lauraceae

2 to 6 m tall, sometimes as a small tree

Gardens, hedges, tubs, ordinary free-draining soils

Flowering: March – April

Full sun

Part shade

Hardy to -15°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Its dried leaves are one of the most widely used culinary herbs since antiquity. Bay laurel has aromatic leaves used in cooking, without a bitter-almond smell, whereas cherry laurel leaves give off this characteristic (and toxic) smell when crushed — they are not related plants despite sharing a common name.

🍃 Leaves

Evergreen, leathery, lanceolate, glossy dark green, aromatic

🌸 Flowers

Small pale yellow flowers in small umbels in the leaf axils

🍎 Fruits

Small oval black drupes

🪵 Bark

Smooth grey bark, trunk often multiple

🗺️ Distribution

Mediterranean; found in the maquis of southern France, very widely cultivated everywhere as a culinary herb.

🐝 Value for pollinators

Inconspicuous yellowish flowers, not very rich in nectar but visited by a few insects in spring.

✂️ Horticultural uses

Planted as a specimen, clipped hedge or in pots; leaves harvested as a culinary herb.

⚠️ Possible toxicity

No known toxicity for the leaves used in cooking.

⚠️ Look-alike species

Bay laurel

Laurus nobilis

Cherry laurel

Prunus laurocerasus

Bay laurel has aromatic leaves used in cooking, without a bitter-almond smell, whereas cherry laurel leaves give off this characteristic (and toxic) smell when crushed — they are not related plants despite sharing a common name.

🌿 Other Lauraceae to discover

Avocado

Persea americana

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.