Danae racemosa

Alexandrian Laurel  Asparagaceae

Alexandrian Laurel, or Poet’s Laurel, is one of those plants that looks as though someone has taken a perfectly good shrub and replaced its leaves with something from the florist’s refrigerator. The glossy green ‘leaves’ are actually flattened stems, or phylloclades, which explains both their curious appearance and their extraordinary longevity once cut. The species is native to southern Türkiye, north-west Syria, the south-eastern Transcaucasus and northern Iran, where it grows as a slow-growing evergreen shrub. 

Its tiny greenish flowers are easily overlooked, but are followed by handsome orange-red berries, while the elegant arching stems make it one of the most useful evergreen plants for shade. It has an especially distinguished career in floristry, where the long-lasting foliage is harvested commercially as a structural filler for bouquets, arrangements and wreaths. Cut stems can have a vase life of up to three weeks, and the foliage is also commonly painted or dyed for floral work. 

In the garden, give it fertile, moist but well-drained soil and shelter from cold winds, preferably in partial or deeper shade. Slow to establish, but wonderfully dependable once settled. A genuine florist’s plant that has somehow escaped the cutting garden and become a rather excellent woodland shrub.

Flowering: May–June
Fruiting: Autumn–winter
Hardiness: H5, approximately –15 to –10°C 
Height: 1–1.2m
Spread: 1–1.2m
Distribution: Southern Türkiye, north-west Syria, south-eastern Transcaucasus and northern Iran
Floristry: Exceptional long-lasting cut foliage; used extensively as a bouquet filler and in floral arrangements and wreaths