Myrica gale

Bog myrtle ( Myrica gale )

The bog myrtle ( Myrica gale ), also called Gagel, is a flowering plant in the family of the myrtle family ( Myricaceae ). It is widely distributed in North America and northwestern Europe and in Europe the only type of Myricaceae family.

  • 6.1 Use as food
  • 6.2 Other Use
  • 7.1 Notes and references

Description

Appearance and leaf

The bog myrtle grows as a highly branched, deciduous shrub, reaching heights of growth of mostly 0.5 to 1.5 ( 0.3 to 2 ) meters. The bark of the branches is staffed with dark brown and glands.

The heaped standing at the ends of the branches leaves are oblong with cuneate base narrowed, with a length of 2.5 to 5, rarely up to 6 centimeters. The upper leaf surface is dark green and the leaf underside lighter. Over the summer, leaves are leathery.

Inflorescence, flower and fruit

The flowering period extends from April to May The myrtle is dioecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( dioecious ). The flowers appear before the leaves. Female flowers are in short brownish and male aged men in elongated inflorescences, which are also called kittens in this case. The short style has two relatively long stigma lobes.

The dry stone fruits are tricuspid.

Ecology and ingredients

Vegetative propagation is done by underground runners. The myrtle is densely covered with seated and shining golden glands that smell strongly aromatic and secrete essential oils. The glands but essential oils with α -pinene, D- and Y - cadinene and limonene from. The leaves have an aromatic bitter taste

His lateral roots have thickened because of Gagelstrauch forms with the actinomycete Frankia alni a nitrogen -fixing root symbiosis. Earlier data on the presence of a mycorrhizal fungus with a partner have not been confirmed.

Pollination is by wind ( anemophily ). Flowers Ecologically it is the " fixed " type.

The fruits are tiny one-seeded drupes with a wax coating and storage cotyledons. There are wind - and animal spreader; also flight and swimming propagation occur. You are cold and light to germinate. Fruit ripening in September.

The caterpillars of some butterflies like Heath tensioner ( Ematurga Atomaria ), milkweed moth ( Acronicta euphorbiae ) and Rotrandbär ( Diacrisia sannio ) are of the bog myrtle as a food source dependent.

Ingredients

Active ingredients: In the leaves 0.4-0.7 % essential oil which solidified completely at 15 ° C, with 17% α -pinene, 13% δ - and γ - cadinene, limonene, β - myrcene, α and β -phellandrene, cineol, Nerodiol, p- cymene, α - Copan, β - caryophyllene, α - terpineol, Guaja - 3 ,7-diene.

In the branches of 0.08 % and in the catkins 0.4-0.6 % essential oils.

Folk names

For the Gagelstrauch are numerous regionally specific and popular names such as bakers Busch, Birtgenbertz, Borse, Flohkrut, Gerber myrtle, Grut, Mirtelbaum, Mirtelbon, Mirtelepoumahi, Mitrus, niaouli, knobs herb Portz, noise, Talgbusch, peat oil myrtle or washing tree. In the North German areas of bog myrtle and Beer Post, Kienpost, Porst, or post is called. This may be due to a derivation from the Scandinavian name (eg Danish " porse " Estonian " porss ", Norwegian and Swedish " pors "). However, many of these names are misleading because the name Porst in botanical use of the German language, the plant Rhododendron tomentosum ( Ledum palustre old name ) called. The authors of old herbs and medicinal books frequently used the names Mirtus pors, myrtle, Rhus sylvestris or Tamariscen. In English bog myrtle = Sumpfmyrte, or the Spanish name myrtle holandés = Dutch myrtle and myrtle de Brabant with reference to the Belgian province of Brabant.

(see also below: cultural history)

Occurrence and risk

The myrtle is widespread in North America and northwestern Europe. In Europe, especially in the coastal ( high rainfall ) areas of the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Norway, South West and Central Sweden. In Germany it is limited to areas with Atlantic climate. Its occurrence date back to the Lower Rhine lowlands, the Westphalian Bight ( Münster, senna ), northern Lower Saxony, the western Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg -Western Pomerania and Lower Lusatia. On the East Frisian islands of bog myrtle comes today only before Spiekeroog. On Juist he was once planted.

The bog myrtle grows mainly at the edges of bogs and wet heaths of the Atlantic climate zone.

Larger Gagelstrauch stocks can be found in Central Europe today almost exclusively in conservation areas. The myrtle is endangered mainly by eutrophication, drainage and by shading of its locations. The myrtle is on the red list of endangered plant species.

Cultural history and use

The myrtle was used in North West Europe early for brewing beer. Based on archaeological findings in the area of the mouth of the Rhine can be assumed that there Gagel was already in use at the time of Christ's birth for brewing beer. After the usual on the Lower Rhine name for the Gagelstrauch " Grut " such beers are also called Grutbiere. These were widely used until the 15th century. The brewers who were working with, used to be called " Gruter ", from where many similar surnames such as Greuter, Gruyter, Grüter derive etc.. Even today there are still or again Gagel beers. In Denmark, especially in Jutland, where the shrub still fairly common, the branches of the shrub bog form the crucial part of the popular because of its mildness gale schnapps ( Porsesnaps ). In addition, the Thisted Bryghus will brew a beer Gagel named Porse Guld. For the year's supply of Gagel ( Porse ) the entire staff of the brewery makes mid-July a company outing in the Jutland heath so the necessary need for Gagel to worry. Thus Gagel is also good for the working environment.

Use as food

The aromatic essential oil was and is a component of herbal liqueurs. The fruits have been used even before the Middle Ages in beer production.

Others use

He also found as Gerber plant and as insect repelling agent application. The flower buds were used for yellow coloring ( dye plant ).

Kitten female Gagel shrub

Kitten male Gagel shrub

Gagelstrauch in winter

Swell

  • Ruprecht Duell, Herfried Kutzelnigg: Botanical and ecological excursion paperback. Quelle & Meyer Verlag, 1994, ISBN 3-494-01229-6.
  • Peter Lietz: The raw materials and additives in the history of brewing beer. In: . GGB Yearbook 2004 Society for the History of brewing eV (SCI), Berlin 2004, ISSN 0072- 422x, pp. 154-156.
  • Frank Lorberg: The disappearance of Gagels. In: Gagel, valerian and plantain. Contributions to plant sociology, landscaping, vegetation. (Notebook of the Kassel School 52) Kassel 1999, pp. 82-107.
  • Thomas Prolingheuer, Klaus Kaplan: To socialization and the location of the Gagels ( Myrica gale L.) in Westphalia. In: Metelener Series for Nature Conservation, Issue 1, Metelen 1990, pp. 39-57.
  • Ruprecht Duell, Herfried Kutzelnigg: Pocket Dictionary of Plants in Germany and neighboring countries. The most common central European species in the portrait. 7, revised and expanded edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2011, ISBN 978-3-494-01424-1.
  • Lutz Roth, Max Daunderer, Kurt Kormann: poisonous plants plant toxins. 6th edition. Nikol, Hamburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-86820-009-6.
  • Gagelstrauch. In: FloraWeb.de.
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