Scientific name: Myrica gale L.
Common name: Bog-myrtle
Description
Habit: A small shrub, to 1 m high.
Stems: Erect, bushy, woody, sparsely hairy, twiggy dark brown stems.
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous, without stipules, undivided, 2-4 cm long, oblong but broadest near the tip, untoothed or short-toothed in the upper part of leaf; very aromatic and with glands.
Flowers: Actinomorphic, female and male flowers on separate plants; flowers in catkins, perianth absent; male catkins 15 mm long, stamens 4 with a broad bract; female catkins 6 mm long, with 2 flowers with each bract; catkins from previous years growth present before the leaves.
Fruits: A nut, surrounded by enlarged bracteoles.
Habitat: Lake-shores, bogs and fens.Distribution: Occasional.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No