I went and observed at my sit-spot on the morning of the 14th. I had planned on doing it earlier; however, things in my life began to get hectic and I knew that after everything that was happening that I would need a break and alone time, and that this would be the perfect assignment to do during that time. This caused me to save the assignment and make sure that I actually took a break from everything.

During my time I decided to wander off a little from where I typically sit. I decided on a small tree that was wrapping around and out of the other deciduous trees. The tree had all of its foliage intact and it was fruiting. The trees surrounding had already dropped all of their leaves, and this made the tree stand out. The tree is not tall, its more spread out than tall. The leaves are small rounded, with a pointed end. The top of the leaves had a waxy feel, while the bottom felt like it was covered in peach fuzz. The small fruits were green but turning purple. They were not hard, but they weren’t soft. They almost felt like a cherry tomato that had just begun to go bad.

While I was at my sit-spot very little occurred. The crickets and grasshoppers were jumping around like crazy and in the distance, I could see a flock of birds circling. I later found out that there was a dead deer in the creek across campus. There was no wind or clouds, I would have enjoyed some cloud coverage because the sun was extremely hot. I enjoyed it though. I enjoyed having a specific task and thing to focus on, rather than just observing everything around me. I get easily distracted when there are many things that I am supposed to be paying attention to. I am not as easily distracted when I am focusing on one specific task, so this helped.

Trying to identify my plant was difficult. I searched for at least an hour through many identification books. I finally gave up and googled the distinct features of my plant and narrowed it down from there. I found out that the plant I chose was an herb that my family uses all the time in cooking, we use the dried ground version. I had never seen a full leaf though. I always assumed that the leaves grew like basil does, in a small ground coverage like plant. I had no idea that it grew on a tree.

The Laurus nobilis is commonly known as a sweet bay tree. The tree is compact with a low canopy. The dark green foliage and green purple fruits are key identification features of the tree. The tree will flower in the spring, and fruit in the fall. The tree is an evergreen and does not lose foliage in the winter.  The leaves of the tree are thick and waxy feeling, and they are resistant to fire (Cal Poly).

The bay leaf is a common herb used in cooking. It is either used as dried whole leaves or dried ground leaves. Many old wife’s tales say that the leaf will kill you; however, the leaves are more of a nuisance to eat rather than poisonous. Because there is not an aromatic scent to the dried bay leaves, many say that they are pointless. However, when infused into cooking, there is a ton of flavor. Bay leaves are more of a support spice, rather than a main spice.

There are many wife’s tales about the bay leaf, other than that it will kill you. It is said that it will rid of negative witchcraft and evil. The bay leaf is thought to be a protector and will therefore ward off evil and bad spirits. It was also believed that it would protect the world from the angry sky gods when it thundered (Sanctuary Gardner).

There is obviously no scientific evidence to prove these, as they are tales. However, it is helpful in understanding the history of the plant and the “uses” that it holds in our lives. Histories are important to know and understand when looking at the plant and its functions in the modern world.

Bibliography

Daniela, Thompson, R., & Dreamwalker, S. (2014, January 16). Herbal Folklore. Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://sanctuarygardener.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/herbal-folklore/.

Tree Detail. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://selectree.calpoly.edu/tree-detail/laurus-nobilis.