I'm in a FLYING rush right now so I don't have time to look up the proper names and details, but I think it's something to do with an ancient Greek myth, along the lines that a virtuous maiden (named Daphne?) was being pursued by one of the gods who lusted after her, and when he caught her she prayed to (?)Aphrodite to be saved from being ravished by him, whereupon the goddess turned her into a laurel tree. I think the connection between virginity (i.e preserving it) and the laurel stems from that. I also vaguely remember a book or play titled "Daphne Laureola" [sp?] which seems to reinforce the connection between the two.

Sorry I don't have time to research this a bit, but maybe some canny Catter can fill in the gaps (or correct me if I've misremembered something). Byeeeeeeeee...