sweet bay

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A shrub or small tree (Magnolia virginiana) of the southeast United States and eastern coastal areas north to Massachusetts, having large fragrant white flowers and red fruit.
2. n. See laurel.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The noble or victor's laurel, Laurus nobilis, which is also the common bay-tree, in southern Europe becoming a tree of 40 or 50 feet, in cooler regions grown as a shrub. It has lanceolate evergreen leaves with a pleasant scent and an aromatic taste, which are used for flavoring in cookery, form an ingredient in several ointments, and are placed between the layers of Smyrna flgs. See laurel.
2. n. The swamp-laurel Magnolia glauca. See Magnolia.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. (Bot.) Swamp sassafras.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. shrub or small tree having rather small fragrant white flowers; abundant in southeastern United States