Head North across Parnassus Avenue and turn right, heading uphill. Continue to the two large trees at 58 Parnassus, and try crushing a leaf from the suckers shooting up at the base of the trees. The distinctive smell will identify them as bay laurel trees from the Mediterranean region, sometimes called Grecian bay trees. The scientific name is Laurus nobilis. This is not our local California bay tree, it’s the culinary bay that is used in Mediterranean cooking.
