Myrica

Myrica gale is a species of flowering plant in the family Myricaceae native to cool temperate regions of Eurasia and North America. Common names include bog-myrtle, sweet gale, Dutch myrtle and sweetgale. It grows in acidic peat bogs throughout the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. It is an aromatic deciduous shrub that often forms extensive dense clonal colonies from root suckers. It flowers in spring, before the leaves emerge, and the flowers are catkins. It is a favorite food of beavers and provides good habitat for salmon and water birds.

Myrica is a genus of about 35-50 species of small trees and shrubs in the family Myricaceae. Common names of the genus include bayberry, bay-rum tree, candleberry, sweet gale and wax-myrtle. The generic name was derived from the Greek word myrike, meaning "fragrance". The wax coating on the fruit of several species, known as bayberry wax, has been used traditionally to make candles.

The essential oils accumulate in most parts of the plant, including the leaves, branches, catkins, and fruits. The main components of its essential oils are 1,8-cineole, α-pinene, limonene, selina-3(7)-diene and (E)-nerolidol. Leaf and flower oils both contain monoterpene hydrocarbons, among them α-pinene, p-cymene and limonene, and the oxygenated monoterpene 1,8-cineole. A total of 85 compounds were identified in the essential oils of Myrica gale from Lithuania. The high variation in the composition of the essential oils suggests the presence of different chemotypes within the studied habitats. In the Lithuanian samples, 1,8-cineole was the most abundant compound, and its share in fruit oils was on average twice that in leaf oils. Leaf oil α-pinene amounted to up to 1.9% in Japan, 2.2% in Canada, 12.2% in France, 17.4% in Finland and up to 32.2% in Scotland. The volatile oil also has a role in resistance to fungal pathogens.

The foliage is a traditional insect repellent, used by campers to keep biting insects out of tents. In Scotland it has been traditionally used to ward off the Highland midge. Roots and bark are used as a source of yellow dye for calfskin and wool, and catkins and fruits as a source of wax for candles. Dried leaves and fruits have been used as a spice in soups and stews and as a flavouring for beer. Dried leaves also make a tea, and the leaves or nutlets, chopped or dried, can be made into a seasoning. It has also been used in traditional medicine as a remedy for stomach and cardiac disorders. The plant has been described as an abortifacient, so people who are, or might be, pregnant should not consume it.

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Related: Alpha Pinene · Angelica · Angelica Root · Angelica Root Oil · Artemisia · Barrenwort · Beachheather · Behini Tree