Myrica gale

9.9

A small shrub with a strong smell and bitter leaves that grows in bogs

noun

Specialized

: Myrica gale

The wetlands are home to Myrica gale, which gives off a distinctive fragrance when touched.

Examples

The Myrica gale thrives in wet, boggy environments.
Local brewers sometimes use Myrica gale as a substitute for hops in ale-making.
Botanists identified Myrica gale growing in the peat bog near the river.
I found a patch of Myrica gale near the lake.
In the wetlands of northern Europe, Myrica gale can be found growing abundantly among other marsh plants.
Local herbalists often harvest Myrica gale for its aromatic leaves, which are used in traditional remedies.
The distinct smell of Myrica gale filled the air as we walked through the bog on our nature hike.

Synonyms

Scotch gale

vsMyrica gale

9.9

A small bush with bitter, fragrant leaves that grows in wet places

is the same shrub but given a different common name

sweet gale

vsMyrica gale

9.9

A small bush that grows in wet places and has bitter leaves with a strong smell

is the same plant but often identified by a scientific name

Surface Forms

Myrica gale singular

Myrica gales plural

Morphology

Myrica + gale

This is a taxonomic Latin binomial: knowing 'Myrica' (a genus of aromatic shrubs) allows a learner to infer that the phrase names a type of shrub, but the species epithet 'gale' is not a meaningful English word here and does not transparently convey the specific habitat or taste. Scientific names function as labels across languages, so partial inference (it is a Myrica shrub) is possible, but the full descriptive meaning is not predictable from the constituents.

Etymology

Myrica gale may come from old words where Myrica meant 'fragrant' and gale meant 'bitter'. This is a handy picture: the plant is a small bog shrub that smells strong when touched, tastes bitter, and was once used by brewers like hops, so the name fits what the plant is.