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Myrica gale

 
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Myrica gale
 
 
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Myrica gale is a species of flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
 in the genus Myrica
Myrica

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 Australasia....
, native to northern and western Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 and parts of northern North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
. It is a deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
 shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
 growing to 1-2 m tall. Common names include Bog Myrtle and Sweet Gale. The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are spirally arranged, simple, 2-5 cm long, oblanceolate with a tapered base and broader tip, and a crinkled or finely toothed margin. The flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are catkin
Catkin

A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollination but sometimes insect pollinated ....
s, with male and female catkins on separate plants (dioecious
Plant sexuality

Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes Morphology aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
).






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Myrica gale is a species of flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
 in the genus Myrica
Myrica

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 Australasia....
, native to northern and western Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 and parts of northern North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
. It is a deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
 shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
 growing to 1-2 m tall. Common names include Bog Myrtle and Sweet Gale. The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are spirally arranged, simple, 2-5 cm long, oblanceolate with a tapered base and broader tip, and a crinkled or finely toothed margin. The flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are catkin
Catkin

A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollination but sometimes insect pollinated ....
s, with male and female catkins on separate plants (dioecious
Plant sexuality

Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes Morphology aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
). The fruit
Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
 is a small drupe
Drupe

In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovary....
.

Myrica Gale Hanlig
It typically grows in acid
Acid

An acid is traditionally considered any chemical compound that, when dissolved in water, gives a solution with a hydrogen ion Activity greater than in pure water, i.e....
ic peat
Peat

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation biological tissue. Peat forms in wetlands or peatlands, variously called bogs, Moorland, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests....
 bog
Bog

A bog or mire is a wetland type that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—usually mosses, but also lichens in Arctic climates....
s, and to cope with these difficult nitrogen
Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674?. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere....
-poor growing conditions, the root
Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial root or aerating ....
s have nitrogen-fixing
Nitrogen fixation

Nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen is taken from its relatively inert molecular form in the Earth's atmosphere and converted into nitrogen compounds ....
 actinobacteria
Actinobacteria

Actinobacteria or actinomycetes are a group of Gram-positive bacterium with high G+C ratio. ...
 which enable the plants to grow.

Uses

The foliage has a sweet resin
Resin

Resin is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly Pinophyta. It is valued for its chemical constituents and uses, such as varnishes and adhesives, as an important source of raw materials for organic synthesis, or for incense and perfume....
ous scent, and is a traditional insect
Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
 repellent, used by campers
Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity.The participants, known as campers, get away from urban areas, their home region or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or more nights, usually at a campsite....
 to keep biting insects out of tent
Tent

A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of textile or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope....
s. It is also a traditional ingredient of Royal Wedding bouquets, and is used variously in perfume
Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell....
ry and as a condiment
Condiment

In the United Kingdom, a condiment used to be confined to salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar. Use of the term condiment has broadened and now is generally considered to be any prepared edible Chemical substance or mixture, often Food preservation or Fermentation , that is added in relatively small quantities, most often at the table...
.

In northwestern Europe (Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
 and Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
), it was much used in a mixture called gruit
Gruit

Gruit is an old-fashioned herb mixture used for bittering and flavoring beer, popular before the extensive use of hop . Gruit or grut ale may also refer to the beverage produced using gruit....
 as a flavouring for beer
Beer

Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and Fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal?the most common of which is malted barley, although wheat, maize , and rice are widely used....
 from the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 to the 16th century, but it fell into disuse after hops
Hop (plant)

Humulus, is a small genus of flowering plants, native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The female flowers often called cones, of one species are called hops, and are used as flavoring and Food additive#Categoriess, especially for brewing beer....
 had become widely available. Danish brewery Thisted Bryghus produces Porse Guld, a strong beer flavoured with the plant. Beau's All Natural Brewing Company, of Vankleek Hill, ON, Canada, produces 'Bog Water', a seasonal strong ale made with sweet gale from Northern Quebec. The Biddy Early Brewery in County Clare, Ireland use it in making their Red Biddy Ale.

Boots chemist
Alliance Boots

Alliance Boots Limited is a United Kingdom based Pharmaceutical company company, operating as a high street retailer, pharmacist and pharmaceutical wholesaler....
 are planning to increase production of the plant in Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 for use as an essential oil
Essential oil

An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. They are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant material from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove....
 for treating sensitive skin and acne
Acne

Acne is a group of skin rashes that have different causes.* Acne vulgaris - most commonly experienced around puberty, typically of the face and shoulders/chest...
. It is also marketed by Totally Herby of Scotland as an insect repellent, and by The Highland Soap CompanyŽ as a soap.

In some native cultures in Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada

Eastern Canada is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces and territories of Canada:...
, the plant has been used as a traditional remedy for stomach aches, fever
Fever

Fever is a frequent medical sign that describes an increase in internal body temperature to levels above normal. Fever is most accurately characterized as a temporary elevation in the body's thermoregulatory set-point, usually by about 1?2 ?C ....
, bronchial ailments and liver
Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals; it has a wide range of functions, a few of which are detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion....
 problems. It has also been used to enhance the lucidity of dreams.. In Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 it has been traditionally used to ward off the dreaded midge
Midge

A midge is a very small, two-winged flying insect. "Midge" may also refer to:* Midge Hadley, a fictional character in the Barbie line of dolls by Mattel...
. "The Creole Doctor," an 1886 article by Lafcadio Hearn
Lafcadio Hearn

Patrick Lafcadio Hearn , also known as after gaining Japanese citizenship, was an author, best known for his books about Japan. He is especially well-known for his collections of Japanese legends and kwaidan, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things....
, discusses the uses of the plant, known locally as "cirier batard," in Louisiana creole folk remedies.

Sweet Gale can grow in a narrow band in the intertidal zone, especially if it has some logs, washed down 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 sweet gale is present. The ponds thus formed are often completely submerged at high tide but retain water at low tide and provide deep enough water to provide a refuge for fish, including juvenile salmon where the water is too deep for predation by wading birds. Thus the presence of Sweet Gale can enhance salmon recruitment.

Cautions

Myrica gale is listed as an abortifacient
Abortifacient

An abortifacient is a substance that induces abortion. Abortifacients for animals that have mating undesirably are known as mismating shots.Common abortifacients used in performing medical abortions include mifepristone, which is typically used in conjunction with misoprostol in a two-step approach....
 and, therefore, should not be consumed by women who are, or might be, pregnant.

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