Laurel

a bush or tree of the Levant, fifteen to sixty feet, with large, lanceolate, shining leaves, cream-colored flowers, and black, oval, half-inch berries. In ancient Greece the laurel was sacred to Apollo. "Apollo's laurel bough," says Marlowe. A laurel wreath of berry-bearing twigs was the victor's crown in the national games and in oratorical or poetical contests. "To bind the laurel on his brow," is to ascribe high honor. "To win laurels," is to excel, to gain praise and fame. There is a tendency to attach the name to diverse plants having shining leaves. The laurel of the ancients and of the poets is known also as the bay laurel. Botanists call it Laurus nobilis. The American laurel or calico bush is a handsome shrub, but it is related to the heath family. Ground laurel is the trailing arbutus.