Daphne laureola, commonly called spurge-laurel, is a shrub in the flowering plant familyThymelaeaceae. Despite the name, this woodland plant is neither a spurge nor a laurel. Its native range covers much of Europe and extends to Algeria, Morocco and the Azores. With Daphne mezereum it is one of two species of Daphnenative to Britain, both of which have a strong preference for alkaline soils and are most commonly found in limestone areas, although D. laureola is also found on clay. However, unlike D. mezereum, D. laureola is an evergreen with yellowish green flowers borne very early in the spring and black berries, which are poisonous to humans but not to birds, present from late summer. All parts of the plants are poisonous. The sap is known to cause skin rashes on contact. D. laureola reaches a height between 0.5-1.5 m. The habit of this shrub can be upright or decumbent. The bark is thin and yellow-grey when mature, while immature stems are green. The cambium is malodorous with a scent reminiscent of herb robert. The alternate leaves usually form dense whorls at the shoot tips, but may clothe entire branches. The leaves are oblanceolate to obovate-oblanceolate, 2–13 cm long and 1–3 cm wide. They are glabrous, dark green and glossy on the upper surface and lighter in color beneath. The inconspicuous yellow-green axial flowers, usually hidden among the leaf bases, may be strongly fragrant, or may exhibit no scent at all. Outside its native range, D. laureola can become a dangerous invasive weed. Growing in sun or shade, it is well-suited to the temperate forestunderstory and can rapidly colonize areas to form monotypic stands and out-compete native vegetation. It is a Class BNoxious weed in Washington state. Mentioned on 5th Dec 1783, called dwarf laurels, by Gilbert White who “fetched them” from the high wood and hanger at Selborne and planted them in his garden. Hand-pulling is effective against small infestations ; shrubs too large or too small to pull must be dug out.
