Bay leaf is the aromatic leaf of several species of the laurel family (Lauraceae)The two major ones used are (Laurus_nobilis) the Mediterranean Bay and (Umbellularia californica), California Bay-Laurel.  Although the Mediterranean bay is the variety most often marketed commercially, California Bay-Laurel is preferred by some cooks, including myself, because it has a more pungent flavor and aroma.  AND, for myself, since I am a Californian, I have almost always had access to a bay tree, meaning that I may harvest my leaves fresh whenever needed.  There is nothing quite like the delightful aroma of fresh bay. In Oregon, the California Bay-Laurel is known as Myrtle Wood and there is a thriving industry making really ugly furniture out of it.

Bay may be used in almost any savory cooking application.  It is most often used in soups, stews and other like pottages.  Since the leaves remain firm even after hours of cooking, they should be removed before a dish using them is served.  They are frequently an ingredient in bouquet garni.  The most common dishes they are used in are soups, stews and stocks.  They are often placed on top of meatloaf or pate while they cook.

Cioppino - San Francisco

Kettle Soup - England

Joe Booker Stew - New England

Meatloaf Italian Style - California Wine Country

Yankee Pot Roast - New England

Red Beans 'n' Rice - New Orleans

The Laurel Leaf has long been used for more than cooking.  Ancient Greeks and Romans crowned victors with wreaths of laurel. The term "baccalaureate," meaning laurel berry, refers to the ancient practice of honoring scholars and poets with garlands from the bay laurel tree. Romans felt the leaves protected them against thunder and the plague. Later, Italians and the English believed bay leaves brought good luck and warded off evil. 

The Laurel, being a Mediterranean plant, is of course not universally grown.  It thrived in a Mediterranean climate and so is very prevalent in Greece, Italy and California.  In it’s proper climate it can reach heights of forty feet and more.  As I sit here in my office writing this I can see a clump of old California Bay-Laurel, the tallest of which are near sixty feet.  It may however, be kept pruned into a small bush.