Myrica gale

Sweet Gale

Sweet Gale, Sawbill Lake, BWCAW
Photo © by Earl J.S. Rook, 2002

Flora, fauna, earth, and sky...
The natural history of the northwoods

Name:

• Myrica, from the Latin for the tamarisk tree
• gale,
• Sweet Gale, from
• Other common names include Bayberry, Bog Myrtle, English Bog Myrtle, Dutch Myrtle, Herba Myrti Rabanitini, Pors (Dan, Nor, Swe), Suomyrtit (Fin), Gagelstrauch (Ger), Roid (Gaelic)

Taxonomy:

• Kingdom Plantae, the Plants
  • Division Magnoliophyta, the Angiosperms (flowering plants)
    • Class Magnoliopsida, the Dicotyledons
    • Subclass Hamamelididae
      • Order Myricales
        • Family Myriaceae, the Bayberries; with Comptonia (Sweet Fern)
          • Genus Myrica, with the native bayberries and Wax Myrtle
• Taxonomic Serial Number: 19265
• Also known as Gale palustris

Description:

• A ¼, ½, ¾, º, é
• Leaves
• Stem
• Roots
• Flowers
• Sepals
• Petals
• Stamens
• Pistils
• Ovary superior (within blossom) inferior (below flower)
• Fruit
• Seed
• A deciduous, bushy shrub, to 4' tall.
• Leaves, not unlike a willow or myrtle, oblanceolate, tapering entire at the base, toothed and broadest at the apex, the upper side dark glossy green, the underside paler and slightly downy, under which are a few shining glands.
• Stems and leaves fragrant when bruised.
• Flowers tiny, white; in clusters borne on the bare wood of the previous year's growth.
• Dioecious. The male plant produces flowers in May and June in crowded, stalkless catkins. The fruit catkins about the same size, but thicker, are closely-set, resinous nutlets.

Identification:

• Identifiable as
• Distinguished from other bog shrubs by its bluegreen leaf color, and unique leaf shape. Leaves are toothed only at the end, which is rounded and wider than the leaf base.
• Field Marks

Distribution:

• Alaska to Newfoundland,
• Higher latitudes of Northern Hemisphere; Great Britain, especially in the north; abundant on the Scottish moors and bogs.

Habitat:

• Watersides, bogs, edges of lakes and streams.

Fire:

Associates:

• Trees:
• Shrubs:
• Herbs:
• Ground Covers:
• Mammals:
• Birds:

History:

• Badge of clan Campbell.
• Branches have been used as a substitute for hops in Yorkshire and put into a beer called 'Gale Beer.' Said to be extremely good to allay thirst.

Uses:

• Leaves dried to perfume linen, etc., their odor being very fragrant, but the taste bitter and astringent.
• Catkins or cones, boiled in water, give a scum beeswax, used to make candles.
• Bark used to tan calfskins; if gathered in autumn, will dye wool a good yellow colour and is used for this purpose in Sweden and Wales.
• The Swedes use it in strong decoction to kill insects, vermin and to cure the itch.
• The dried berries are put into broth and used as spice.
• In China, the leaves are infused like tea, and used as a stomachic and cordial.

Reproduction:

• Sexually by seed
• Flowers
• Assexually by
• Reproduces by seed and vegetatively by rhizomes.

Propagation:

• By rhizome division,

Cultivation:

• Hardy to USDA Zone 3 (average minimum annual temperature -40ºF)
• Cultural Requirements
• Sun
• Soil
• Water
• Spacing
• Fertilization
• Size 12"-18"W x 12"-18"H
• Growth rate
• Good for
• Cultivars include
• variety 'Alba', with
• Cultivars and species available by mail order from specialty suppliers or at local nurseries

Links:

• Den virtuella floren, Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Stockholm

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