Laurus nobilis L. (Medit.) – A very rare but possibly overlooked escape from cultivation. Reported recently as self-sowing in coastal dunes in De Haan (comm. M. Leten, August 2009). Since then occasionally seen elsewhere as well, mostly from garden waste or as a relic of cultivation (for instance in Eindhout, Hoegaarden, Kortrijk, Avelgem, etc.).
Laurus nobilis seemingly is increasing as an escape in western Europe, especially in coastal areas. Recent records are available from northwestern France (Verloove 2008) and the British Isles (Clement 2002). Laurus nobilis also is one of the non-indigenous evergreen woody plant species in the understory of winter-deciduous temperate forests in Switzerland that is dramatically spreading in recent years (e.g. Walther 1999).
Selected literature:
Alessi N., Wellstein C., Spada F. & Zerbe S. (2016) Patterns and processes of laurel (Laurus nobilis L.) regeneration in Italian forests. 25th meeting of European Vegetation Survey: Book of Abstracts.
Biondi E. (1972) Stazioni di Laurus nobilis L. nelle Marche. Arch. Bot. Biogeogr. Ital. 48(1-2): 74-79.
Carella R. (2017) A Laurus nobilis L. thicket in Apulia (South Italy). Silva Balcanica 18(1): 75-80. [available online at: https://silvabalcanica.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/sb_181_-2017-075-080....
Clement E. (1998) Laurus and Baccharis in S. Hants (v.c. 11). BSBI News 79: 68-69. [available online at: http://archive.bsbi.org.uk/BSBINews79.pdf]
Clement E.J. (2002) Dangerous laurels - not laurels in danger. BSBI News 90: 44-46. [available online at: http://archive.bsbi.org.uk/BSBINews90.pdf]
Delucchi G., Farina E. & Torres Robles S. (2007) Laurus nobilis (Lauraceae) especie naturalizada en la Republica Argentina. Bol. Soc. Argent. Bot. 42(3-4): 309-312. [available online at: http://www.scielo.org.ar/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1851-2372200...
Filibeck G. (2006) Notes on the distribution of Laurus nobilis L. (Lauraceae) in Italy. Webbia 61(1): 45-56.
Pope C. (2002) Bay (Laurus nobilis) as an invasive species. BSBI News 90: 43. [available online at: http://archive.bsbi.org.uk/BSBINews90.pdf]
Verloove F. (2008) La flore urbaine de Dunkerque (Nord): quelques xénophytes remarquables. Le Monde des Plantes 494: 11-14.
Walther G.-R. (1999) Distribution and limits of evergreen broad-leaved (laurophyllous) species in Switzerland. Botanica Helvetica 109: 153-167. [available online at: https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=bhl-002:1999:109::278]