| Myrica gale | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Foliage and immature fruit | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fagales |
| Family: | Myricaceae |
| Genus: | Myrica |
| Species: | M. gale |
| Binomial name | |
| Myrica gale | |
| Synonyms | |
Gale palustris | |
Myrica gale is a species of flowering plant in the family Myricaceae native to parts of Eurasia and North America. Common names include bog-myrtle, [2] sweet willow, Dutch myrtle, [3] and sweetgale. [4]
Myrica gale is a deciduous shrub growing to 2 metres (6+1⁄2 feet) tall and 1 m wide. [5] The leaves are spirally arranged, simple, 2–5 centimetres (3⁄4–2 inches) long, oblanceolate with a tapered base and broader tip, and a crinkled or finely toothed margin. The red–orange flowers are catkins, with male and female catkins on separate plants (dioecious). The fruit is a small, waxy drupe. [5]
Bog-myrtle is distributed throughout parts of the Northern Hemisphere, including Japan, North Korea, Russia, mainland Europe, the British Isles, Canada and the United States. [6]
It typically grows in acidic peat bogs, [5] and to cope with these difficult nitrogen-poor growing conditions, the roots have nitrogen-fixing actinobacteria which enable the plants to grow.
Sweetgale can grow in a narrow band in the intertidal zone, especially if logs have been washed into the estuary on which to establish itself. It is a favorite food of beavers, and low beaver dams can be found in the intertidal zone if sufficient sweetgale is present. The ponds thus formed are often completely submerged at high tide but retain enough water at low tide to provide refuge for fish. If too deep for predation by wading birds, juvenile salmon may flourish. [7]
The foliage has a sweet resinous scent and is a traditional insect repellent, used by campers to keep biting insects out of tents. It is also a traditional component of royal wedding bouquets and is used variously in perfumery and as a condiment.
In Scotland, UK, it has been traditionally used to ward off the Highland midge, [8] and it is marketed as an insect repellent and as an ingredient in some soaps. [9]
The leaves can be dried to make tea, and both the nutlets and leaves can be used (either chopped or dried) to make a seasoning. [5] [10]
In north-western Europe (Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands), it was much used in a mixture called gruit as a flavouring for beer from the Middle Ages to the 16th century, but it fell into disuse after hops supplanted gruit herbs for political and economic reasons. [11] [12] In modern times, some brewers have revisited this historic technique and in Denmark and Sweden the plant is commonly used to prepare home-flavoured schnaps. [13]
In some native cultures in Eastern Canada, the plant has been used as a traditional remedy for stomach aches, fever, bronchial ailments, and liver problems.[ citation needed ] "The Creole Doctor", an 1886 article by Lafcadio Hearn, discusses the uses of the plant, known locally as " cirier batard ", in Louisiana creole folk remedies. [14]
In 2007 there were plans to increase production of the plant in Scotland for use as an essential oil for treating sensitive skin and acne. [8] The plant has been listed as an abortifacient and therefore should not be consumed by women who are, or might be, pregnant. [15]
Queen Victoria was given a sprig of bog-myrtle which she planted on the Isle of Wight. Her daughter used some of the plant that grew in her wedding bouquet, starting a royal tradition. [16]
Alders are trees of the genus Alnus in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species extending into Central America, as well as the northern and southern Andes.
Alnus glutinosa, the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations where its association with the bacterium Frankia alni enables it to grow in poor quality soils. It is a medium-sized, short-lived tree growing to a height of up to 30 metres (98 feet). It has short-stalked rounded leaves and separate male and female flowers in the form of catkins. The small, rounded fruits are cone-like and the seeds are dispersed by wind and water.
Betula pendula, commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into Siberia, China, and southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran. It has been introduced into North America, where it is known as the European white birch or weeping birch and is considered invasive in some states in the United States and parts of Canada. The tree can also be found in more temperate regions of Australia.
Myrtus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. It was first described by Swedish botanist Linnaeus in 1753.
An insect repellent is a substance applied to the skin, clothing, or other surfaces to discourage insects from landing or climbing on that surface. Insect repellents help prevent and control the outbreak of insect-borne diseases such as malaria, Lyme disease, dengue fever, bubonic plague, river blindness, and West Nile fever. Pest animals commonly serving as vectors for disease include insects such as flea, fly, and mosquito; and ticks (arachnids).
Myrica is a genus of about 35–50 species of small trees and shrubs in the family Myricaceae, order Fagales. The genus has a wide distribution, including Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, and missing only from Antarctica and Oceania. Some botanists split the genus into two genera on the basis of the catkin and fruit structure, restricting Myrica to a few species, and treating the others in Morella.
Myrica rubra, also called yangmei, yamamomo, Chinese bayberry, red bayberry, yumberry, waxberry, or Chinese strawberry is a subtropical tree grown for its fruit.
Gruit is a herb mixture used for bittering and flavouring beer, popular before the extensive use of hops. The terms gruit and grut ale may also refer to the beverage produced using gruit. Today, however, gruit is a colloquial term applied to a beer produced with hops, that is seasoned with gruit-like herbs.
Ballynahone Bog is a raised bog, situated in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, about 3 km south of Maghera, on low-lying ground immediately north of the Moyola River about 14 km from its mouth at Lough Neagh. It is one of the largest lowland raised bogs in Northern Ireland.
Backhousia citriodora, commonly known as lemon myrtle, lemon scented myrtle or lemon scented ironwood, is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is native to the subtropical rainforests of central and south-eastern Queensland, Australia, with a natural distribution from Mackay to Brisbane.
Darlingtonia State Natural Site is a state park and botanical preserve located five miles (8.0 km) north of Florence, Oregon, United States on U.S. Route 101, just west of Mercer Lake and south of Sutton Lake that is dedicated to the preservation of a rare plant.
Myrica californica is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Pacific Ocean coast of North America from Vancouver Island south to California as far south as the Long Beach area.
Rhododendron tomentosum, commonly known as marsh Labrador tea, northern Labrador tea, marsh rosemary or wild rosemary, is a flowering plant in the subsection Ledum of the large genus Rhododendron in the family Ericaceae.
Myrica pensylvanica, the northern bayberry, is a species of Myrica native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland west to Ontario and Ohio, and south to North Carolina. It is also classified as Morella pensylvanica.
Myrica faya is a species of Myrica, native to Macaronesia, and possibly also western coastal mainland Portugal.
Myrica cerifera is a small evergreen tree or large shrub native to North and Central America and the Caribbean. Its common names include southern wax myrtle, southern bayberry, candleberry, bayberry tree, and tallow shrub. It has uses in the garden and for candlemaking, as well as a medicinal plant.
Callicarpa americana, commonly called the American beautyberry, is an open-habitat, native shrub of the Southern United States which is often grown as an ornamental in gardens and yards. American beautyberries produce large clusters of purple berries, which birds and deer eat, thus distributing the seeds.
A bittering agent is a flavoring agent added to a food or beverage to impart a bitter taste, possibly in addition to other effects. While many substances are bitter to a greater or lesser degree, a few substances are used specifically for their bitterness, especially to balance other flavors, such as sweetness. Notable beverage examples include caffeine, found naturally in tea and coffee and added to many soft drinks, hops in beer, and quinine in tonic water.
Acronicta euphorbiae, the sweet gale moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775.
Myrica caroliniensis is a shrub or small tree native to the coast and coastal plains of southeastern North America. Its common names include bayberry, southern bayberry, pocosin bayberry, and evergreen bayberry. It sees uses in the garden and for candlemaking, as well as a medicinal plant.
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