Laurel
Laurel names 4 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Laurel the genus Laurus and y
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the genus Laurus and y, L. nobilis, the laurus specially the bay, L. nobilis, the laurus and the dephne of the of the Romans and the daphne of the Greeks. Linnæus called it nobilis because it was anciently reserved for priests, heroes, and sacrifices. In its nais tive region-the S. of Europe-it or even 60 feet high, but sends forth so many suckers and low shoots as to have a shrubby appearance. The color is deep green, inclining to olive; the ripe berries There are glands dusk, purple, or black. of the leaves, which excrete on the backs leaves, and the nectar. The berries, the oil have a fragrant smell, an aromatic astringent taste, and narcotic and carminative properties. Water distilled from them contains prussic acid. Cerasus laurocerasus, called the common or broad-leaved laurel, has oblong, remotely leaves; serrated pale-green evergreen flowers in racemes. A native of Trebizond, its leaves, bark, and fruit are virulent poisons.
Laurel a bush or tree of the Levant
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
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.
Laurel a city of Mississippi
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of Mississippi, the county-seat of Jones co. It is on the Mobile, Jackson, and Kansas City, the Gulf and Ship Island, and the Queen and Crescent railroads. It is an important commercial and manufacturing center, and has cotton mills, railroad shops, wagon works, and lumber mills. The city contains two parks, a city hall building, and other notable public buildings. Pop. (1910) 8,465; (1920) 13,037.
Laurel A tree which Apuleius classes among the plants which
An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (1920)
A tree which Apuleius classes among the plants which preserve men from the influence of evil spirits. It was also believed to give protection from lightning.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The botany and the mythology in these entries still hold: Laurus nobilis is the bay laurel of Apollo, the poet's crown and the kitchen bay leaf, and Aiton's 1910 warning that the name gets stuck on any glossy-leaved shrub remains good advice (American or mountain laurel is Kalmia latifolia, in the heath family; ground laurel is the trailing arbutus). Two small corrections: the cherry laurel Collier's called Cerasus laurocerasus is now placed in Prunus as Prunus laurocerasus, and its poison is understood as cyanide released from the glycoside prunasin when the leaves are crushed "acid" that Collier's noted in the distilled water. Laurel, Mississippi, has moved most: the sawmill boom that gave it 13,037 people in 1920 is long over, the population has settled around 17,000, and since 2016 the town has been nationally known as the setting of the house-renovation series Home Town. Apuleius's laurel against evil spirits and lightning is read today as folklore rather than protection.
Written for this edition, 2026.