I've read in some books that the genus Laurus (which includes the common laurel, Laurus nobilis) would come from Northern Asia. Is it a legend or is there something true? The common laurel is frost tolerant (at least until -15 °C) but certainly not as hardy as it would be a plant coming from Siberia...
In Britain what is known as the common laurel is Prunus laurocerasus. It comes from Eastern Europe. It is has no relationship to Laurus nobilis, commonly known as the Bay laurel. This is the one used in cooking... bay leaves, this comes from the Mediterranean region. Prunus laurocerasus is more hardy than Laurus nobilis. Hope this helps.
Well yes, even here there's some confusion between Laurus nobilis and Prunus laurocerasus (the first is called alloro and the second one lauro). As you correcly said, Prunus laurocerasus (Rosaceae family) origins are quite clear: it comes from the Black Sea region. Anyway I was referring to Laurus nobilis: that's my mistake if I called it common laurel instead of bay laurel.
Hi, I suppose that the genus Laurus could have evolved in N Asia - in the geological past when perhaps the climate was very different. However, the whole family, the Lauraceae, basically has a tropical distribution with Laurus nobilis just getting as far N as the Mediterranean. Ciao BrianO
Anyway, I read about "Northern Asian" Laurus in the Italian edition of this book: Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Britain. I don't know if it's present also in the original edition.
That book isn't too reliable! If that is the only place it is claimed, I'd ignore it. I've certainly not seen the claim anywhere before here.
As mentioned it all pivots on what "come from" means in this context. If they are talking about lineage going back to a time when most of the planet was warm, then it seems possible that the same genus or maybe an ancestral group grew in what is now a frigid area. That wouldn't be unusual.
