bay tree

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The laurel-tree, Laurus nobilis, a native of Italy and Greece, growing to the height of 30 feet.
• noun In the eastern United States, a name of the Magnolia glauca, and in California of the Umbellularia Californica.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• A species of laurel. (Laurus nobilis).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun small Mediterranean evergreen tree with small blackish berries and glossy aromatic leaves used for flavoring in cooking; also used by ancient Greeks to crown victors