One reason for the leaves' bad reputation may have something to do with the similar-sounding (and extremely beautiful) mountain laurel, a North American native that is poisonous as all get-out ...

hence the name—aliases for these bay leaves include Mexican bay, false laurel, laurel de la sierra, or mountain laurel. The leaves are thin and long, leathery and green, and the flavor is milder ...

I also noted the thick mountain laurel roots, vines, branches and leaves that must have taken hours of backbreaking work to pull up from the ground, cut back and clear. Even with the vegetation ...