- Author: Ben Faber
California Bay or CA Laurel or Headache Tree or, heaven forbid, Oregon Myrtle is a tree native to the west coast where there is water. In the rainy forests of northern CA and Oregon and the wet creek areas in ravines and canyons of southern CA.
Walking around a barannca the other day along a still wet section of the Ventura River, there was a fruiting bay tree. Fruit that look just like little avocado fruit to which bay is related.
Umbellularia californica is in the Lauraceae along with Persea americana, but sometimes still listed as P. gratissima.
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Tracheophytes
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Magnoliids
Order:Laurales
Family:Lauraceae
Genus:Umbellularia
Bay gets its name from the strong bay laurel odor similar to the culinary laurel – Laurus nobilis –, which is not related to avocado. The odor can be so pungent, that taking strong whiffs of it could bring on a headache, hence the alternative name. The tree can attain a 30 feet height as a single trunked tree or be multi-trunked. The wood is gorgeous hard and is notable in the construction of musical instruments. The seeds were roasted and eaten like acorns. There's been a recent craze to eat dried, ground, powdered avocado seeds which has been discouraged by the CA Avocado Commission.
On the north coast, this tree is subject to Sudden Oak Death – Phytophthora ramorum. It is also subject to avocado root rot, just like avocado. It is also the only California native that is subject to Laurel Wilt Disease which is ravaging the laurel forests of the southeast.
CA Laurel in Flower looks a lot like an avocado flower, hence the reason for being in the same family
The language of flowers . . . UC Master Gardeners Janice Encinger and Iris Craig have been doing their research! They prepared this for our Valentine's Day newspaper column in the Napa Valley Register, and here it is again, with pictures.
Valentine's Day will soon be here. What do we give our favorite valentine? In American culture, the gifts of choice are often candy (chocolate preferred), cards and flowers. For flowers, of course, a bouquet of red roses symbolizes love.
Since antiquity, flowers have been part of major life events such as births, graduations, weddings, illnesses and death. Throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East, flowers are used to communicate. The earliest evidence of floral symbolism is in excavated graves near Mt. Carmel in present-day Israel. These fossilized impressions from 12,000 BC show people lying on, and covered with, leaves—possibly healing herbs— and flower petals.
Aztecs carried small floral bouquets to signify high rank. Victorians relied on nosegays, also called tussie-mussies, which were small aromatic bouquets wrapped in a doily, tied with ribbon and worn on the wrist. They served to mask body aromas and unpleasant street smells.
The Aztecs used flowers to represent opposing sides in their ritual flower wars. In ancient Persia, people conveyed feelings of love and antipathy with flowers.
Hanakatoba is the ancient Japanese art of assigning meaning to flowers. Romans linked their gods to plants and flowers. When Apollo pursued Daphne, her father saves her by turning her into a laurel tree. Apollo in his grief declares, “With your leaves, my victors shall wreath their brows.” Daphne is the symbol for immortality, while the laurel symbolizes victory.
In medieval and Renaissance paintings and sculpture, plants tell hidden stories. The flowers in a painting may reveal the sentiments of the artist. A white lily in a painting of the Annunciation represents virginity; the golden anthers (the part of a stamen that contains the pollen) tell of the Virgin Mary's radiant soul.
During the 19th century, the study of botany increased. Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species and Fertilisation of Orchids. The sexual structure and insect pollinators of orchids were his interest.
During the Victorian era, plant explorers gathered specimens from around the world and brought them to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England, for study. The demand for new species sent plant hunters to little-known countries. Improved glasshouses helped protect the new species. The Victorian garden design, an extension of the house, was formal, with separate “rooms” for growing kitchen vegetables, brightly colored bedding plants, fruit trees and hedges. The inclusion of fishponds and tiger lilies reflected the influence of Chinese design on the garden.
In those days, with communication between men and women constrained by cultural mores, flowers were sent to describe one's feelings. Women wore flowers in their hair and around their waist and carried tussie-mussies close to their heart if they loved the sender.
In the early 20th century, several dictionaries were published to explain the meaning of flowers. Some of these works were small enough to fit in the palm of a young lady's hand. Receiving yellow roses, a symbol of friendship, would have been a crushing blow to someone expecting red roses. Every bouquet had its intended message. To the recipient, pansies might indicate that the sender was thinking of her. A bouquet of heliotrope conveyed devotion, whereas deep red roses denoted utmost love.
To create your own tussie-mussie, select flowers that express your sentiments. Remove leaves from stems, except for needed leaves. Keep flowers in water while you work. Place one larger flower in the center for the tussie-mussie “heart.” Add flowers and herbs to send individual messages. Place larger leaves around the outside to form a base.
To add a doily, cut a hole large enough to accommodate the bouquet. Secure stems with floral tape. Carefully place all the stems through the doily. Tie a beautiful ribbon at the base. Make sure to add a card clarifying the meanings.
In his book Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll gives credit to the Tiger-lily in the Garden of Live Flowers.
Alice approaches Tiger-lily and says, “I wish you could talk!”
“We can talk,” said the Tiger-lily, “when there's anybody worth talking to.”
Alice replies, “And can all the flowers talk?”
“As well as you can,” said the Tiger-lily, “and a great deal louder.”
What flowers are in your garden? Do you have rosemary (for remembrance), red tulips (ardent love), violets (modest worth) or orchids (refined beauty)? Next Valentine's Day, think of sending flowers that tell how you feel.
- Author: Ben Faber
There was just a group of Florida researchers here in California sharing their experiences with ambrosia beetles and a fungal disease in avocado and other members of the laurel family. This is a pest/disease complex similar to that found here caused by a shot hole borer and fusarium. Avocados grown in Florida are of the West Indian or West Indian cross with Mexican or Guatemalan varieties. They are usually big, green fruit that tend to be of a lower oil content. Some marketers promote them as “low cal” or “slimcados” as a result. Whatever.
One of the things that struck home during these wonderful talks was the pronunciation of the word Hass. It was “hozzz”. The “a” was pronounced like the a in hot, not in hat. It made me think that this is probably how our familiar fruit is probably pronounced in much of the US. I also hear Californians (and CA growers, too) pronounce this iconic fruit “hozzz”. The generally accepted pronunciation of this name is “HaaaaSSSSS”. Like in the verb “has” - “He has an avocado”.
The fruit variety was found by a California grower named Rudolph Hass in the 1920's. The name Hass is of German origin. How it has come to be pronounced differently from his name is not clear to me. According to Google Translate, even in German it is pronounced as “has”, though with a somewhat clipped “s” on the end.
And not only has the pronunciation of the name been changed, sometimes the spelling in many produce departments is “Haas”. I once saw it on packaging spelled this way and when I asked the produce manager how that had happened, he told me that they had asked the packer explicitly to spell it that way because that's the way the consumers wanted to see it spelled.
So, the consumer drives the market. Maybe how people say it isn't important, as long as they know what they are buying and enjoy the fruit. At least most Californians seem to know how to say the word Hass.
Can you say Hass?
Photo: On the left: Florida (Slimcado) avocado. On the right: Haas avocado or Lamb-Haas. From: The Gardening Cook, http://thegardeningcook.com/slimcado-information/