Sweet Gale

Sweet Gale
Myrica gale
(Myricaceae)

Description:
This shrub grows up to 3 feet (1 meter) tall, with odorous resin-dots on its stem. Branches are reddish brown. The leaves are deciduous, oblanceolate, 2/5 to 2 inches (1 to 6 cm.) long, somewhat serrate toward the apex, and grayish green. The flowers, inconspicuous stiff spikes, develop before the leaves.

Distribution:
Sweet gale grows in bogs, swamps, shallow water, and along streams. It occurs south of the 67th parallel in North America and in Eurasia.

Constituents:
Von Schantz and Kapetanidis published an analysis of the composition of the essential oil of leaves from a population of Myrica gale from Finland. This oil is composed of about 130 constituents, of which 49 are present in a concentration greater than 0.1 %.

Medicinal uses:
Sweet gale is used as a wash for boils and pimples and as a steam bath switch. (Kari)

Myrica cerifera is the bayberry of the east coast of the United States. Its root bark is astringent, tonic, alterative, cholagogue, diuretic, and aromatic. Bayberry is a powerful stimulant, cleansing and restoring the mucous secretions of the intestinal tract to normal. It is a useful cleansing tonic for the liver. Its stimulant properties are well-known. It is also a valuable agent for arresting hemmorrhage of the uterus, bowels and lungs.

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Copyright © 1987 by Eleanor G. Viereck