Laurus nobilis which Apollo fashioned wreaths out of to console himself. Other versions of the myth, including that of the Roman poet Ovid, state that Daphne was transformed directly into a laurel tree. Bay laurel was used to fashion the laurel wreath of ancient Greece, a symbol of highest status. A wreath of bay laurels was given as the prize at the Pythian Games because the games were in honor of Apollo, and the laurel was one of his symbols. According to the poet Lucian, the priestess of Apollo known as the Pythia reputedly chewed laurel leaves from a sacred tree growing
Daphnandra johnsonii "Daphnandra micrantha", the Australian socketwood. Recently it has been recognised as a separate species. The type specimen collected in the Illawarra district by L.A.S. Johnson, after whom the species was named, by Richard Schodde. The generic name "Daphnandra" refers to a similarity of the anthers of the bay laurel. Greek "daphne" refers to the bay laurel, and "andros" from the Greek for man. The term "socketwood" is from the related species "Daphnandra apatela". A feature of which is where larger branchlets meet the main trunk. This joining resembles a "ball and socket" type joint. A small to medium-sized tree. Growing