GA RDEN TA LES THE TALE OF LAURUS NOBILIS The bay tree or bay laurel is an evergreen tree whose leaves can be used in cooking. It was used by the ancient Romans for medicinal purposes; Pliny the Elder wrote that laurel oil could be used for headaches, ear infections and many other ailments. The Romans also believed that it could protect against lightning, because it doesn't easily burn and it crackles when it is on fire. The ancient Greek name for the tree was "daphne". In Greek mythology, a nymph of the same name was chased by the god Apollo. When she realised she had no hope of escape, she prayed to her father, a river god, for help, and she then turned into a laurel tree. Apollo then claimed this tree as his own, and always wore a laurel wreath from this time. The Romans used laurel wreaths to represent victory, hence the expressions "poet laureate" and "resting on your laurels". "She had barely finished uttering her prayer when a heavy ACTIVITIES numbness seized her limbs. Thin bark enveloped her chest, her - Make a laurel wreath, using hair became leaves, her arms green paper and a paper plate turned into branches, and her or a hair band. swift feet became stuck in heavy - Draw Daphne turning into a roots. tree, with leaves sprouting from Her face became lost in a her fingers and her body covering of leaves. Only her shining beauty remained." becoming bark. - Find a recipe which uses laurel From Ovid, Metamorphoses leaves. Book 1.