Myrica gale
| Myrica gale | ||||||||||||||
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| Missing image Myrica-gale-hunlig.jpg Myrica gale foliage and immature fruit | ||||||||||||||
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| Myrica gale L. |
Myrica gale is a species of flowering plant in the genus Myrica, native to northern and western Europe and parts of northern North America. It is a deciduous shrub growing to 1-2 m tall. Common names include Bog-myrtle and Sweet Gale. The leaves are spirally arranged, simple, 2-5 cm long, oblanceolate with a tapered base and broader tip, and a crinkled or finely toothed margin. The flowers are catkins, with male and female catkins on separate plants (dioecious). The fruit is a small drupe.
Myrica-gale-hanlig.jpg
It typically grows in acidic peat bogs, and to cope with these difficult nitrogen-poor growing conditions, the roots have nitrogen-fixing actinomyceti which enable the plants to grow.
Uses
The foliage has a sweet resinous scent, and is a traditional insect repellant, used by campers to keep biting insects out of tents. It is also a traditional ingredient of Royal Wedding bouquets, and is used variously in perfumery and as a condiment.