Myrica gale

Myrica gale, often called the Marsh Myrtle, is a bush native to our indigenous flora that is inextricably linked to wet and marshy areas. This large and bushy shrub is also known as Sweet Gale or Bayberry due to its deliciously aromatic foliage. It offers an early and long-lasting flowering before the foliage appears. In this species, there are male plants, bearing long reddish-brown catkins that are quite decorative, and female plants with short brown catkins. This bush is essential near water sources or in waterlogged soil, in a garden that leaves room for nature.

Myrica gale belongs to the Myricaceae family. This deciduous bush is widespread in northern and western Europe as well as North America, where it is most commonly found in wet and marshy areas such as bogs or marshes, on acidic and poor soil, much more rarely on limestone. The roots of the marsh myrtle host specific bacteria capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen, indicating an excellent adaptation of the plant to very poor and waterlogged soils.

Sweet Gale has a bushy and dense habit. At maturity, it will reach an average height of 1.50m (4ft 11in) and a width of 1m (3ft 4in), sometimes more. From spring onwards, it has leaves arranged spirally around the branches. They are finely toothed on the edges, spatulate in shape, 2 to 5cm (0.8 to 2in) long, grey-green in colour, and contain an aromatic resin that is very noticeable when crushed. This foliage falls with the arrival of frost in autumn. The flowering period extends from March to May, and it appears before the leaves on the previous year's wood. This bush is generally dioecious, meaning that there are male plants, which only bear staminate flowers, and female plants, capable of bearing fruit in the presence of male plants. The male inflorescences are more visible, consisting of more or less erect catkins that vary in colour from yellow-green to red. The female catkins, short and brown in colour, can produce small fruits called aggregations of drupes, ripening in August-September.

If you have a natural pond, a basin, or a small pond in your garden, plant Marsh Myrtle: fragrant, populated by birds that appreciate it for nesting, visited by insects, this bush is a precious ally for our indigenous flora. This moist soil bush tolerates a wide range of poor soils that it will enrich with nitrogen, allowing the cultivation of more demanding plants alongside it. To accompany it, consider other wetland plants such as alder, willows, Arum, Carex, hostas, Darmera peltata, Petasites, Ligularias, and daylilies, for example.

The foliage of Marsh Myrtle is rich in essential oil. The plant is used in perfumery, and the branches are used by campers to repel biting insects.