Sweet Gale

Sweet Gale (Myrica) - The Myricas, though not showy flowering shrubs, are desirable on account of their scented foliage. The native Sweet Gale or Dutch Myrtle (M. Gale) should be wherever sweet-smelling plants are cared for. It is a thin bush, 2 to 3 feet high, having fragrant leaves. In a moist spot, such as a bog, it spreads by underground shoots and makes a large mass.

Myrica Cerifera - ax Myrtle) and also M. Pennsylvanica and Californica, N. American species, are less common. The last is a good evergreen of dense growth, with fragrant leaves, green through the winter. It is a vigorous plant, especially in light soils, and is hardy, but is little known outside botanical collections. The Wax Myrtle is met with in old gardens, where it was planted for its spicy foliage. I find our native Sweet Gale free and vigorous in stiff soils where few things grow well.

Sweet Fern (Myrica (Comptonia) Asplenifolia) - A quaint little shrub 2 to 3 feet high, with Fern-like long, cut into rounded lobes, and aromatic leaves. It spreads freely in sandy soils, and may be increased by layers, suckers, or seeds. A pretty plant in the sandy woods of many other parts of N. America. In gardens its place is among small shrubs and on the margins of peat beds.

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