| Myrtus Myrtle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Myrtus communis | |
 | |
| Myrtle (M. communis)[3] | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Subfamily: | Myrtoideae |
| Tribe: | Myrteae |
| Genus: | Myrtus L. |
| Type species | |
| Myrtus communis | |
| Species | |
| |
| Synonyms[4] | |
MyrthusScop. | |
Myrtus (commonly calledmyrtle) is agenus offlowering plants in the familyMyrtaceae. It was first described by Swedish botanistLinnaeus in 1753.[2]
Over 600 names have been proposed in the genus, but nearly all have either been moved to other genera or been regarded as synonyms. The genusMyrtus has threespecies recognised today:[5]
Myrtus communis, the "common myrtle", is native across theMediterranean region,Macaronesia, western Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It is also cultivated.
The plant is anevergreenshrub or smalltree, growing to 5 metres (16 ft) tall. Theleaf is entire, 3–5 cm long, with a fragrantessential oil.
The star-likeflower has five petals and sepals, and numerousstamens. Petals usually are white. The flower is pollinated byinsects.
The fruit is a roundberry containing severalseeds, most commonly blue-black in colour. A variety with yellow-amber berries is also present. The seeds are dispersed bybirds that eat the berries.
Myrtus nivellei, theSaharan myrtle, (Tuareg language:tefeltest), isendemic to the mountains of the centralSahara Desert.[6] It is found in a restricted range in theTassili n'Ajjer Mountains in southernAlgeria, and theTibesti Mountains in northernChad.
It occurs in small areas of sparse relict woodland at montane elevations above the central Saharan desert plains.[6]
It is a traditionalmedicinal plant for theTuareg people.[6]
Two hundred and fiftyfossilseeds of †Myrtus palaeocommunis have been described frommiddle Miocenestrata of the Fasterholt area nearSilkeborg in CentralJutland,Denmark.[7]
Myrtus communis is widely cultivated as anornamental plant for use as ashrub ingardens andparks. It is often used as ahedge plant, with its small leaves shearing cleanly.
When trimmed less frequently, it has numerous flowers in late summer. It requires a long hot summer to produce its flowers, and protection from winter frosts.
The species and thesubspeciesM. communis subsp.tarentina have gained theRoyal Horticultural Society'sAward of Garden Merit.[8][9]
Myrtus communis is used in the islands ofSardinia andCorsica to produce an aromatic liqueur calledMirto bymacerating it in alcohol.Mirto is one of the most typical drinks of Sardinia and comes in two varieties:mirto rosso (red) produced by macerating the berries, andmirto bianco (white) produced from the less common yellow berries and sometimes the leaves.[10]
Many Mediterranean pork dishes include myrtle berries, and roasted piglet is often stuffed with myrtle sprigs in the belly cavity, to impart an aromatic flavour to the meat.
The berries, whole or ground, have been used as a pepper substitute.[11] They contribute to the distinctive flavor of some versions of ItalianMortadella sausage and the related AmericanBologna sausage.
In Calabria, a myrtle branch is threaded through dried figs and then baked. The figs acquire a pleasant taste from the essential oils of the herb. They are then enjoyed through the winter months.
Myrtle, along withwillow tree bark, occupies a minor place in the writings ofHippocrates,Pliny,Dioscorides, Galen, and the Arabian writers.[12] Celsus, for instance, suggested that 'soda in vinegar, or ladanum in myrtle oil and wine' could be used to treat various ailments of the scalp.[13] It is possible that Myrtle's effect was due to high levels ofsalicylic acid.
In several countries, particularly in Europe and China, there has been a tradition for prescribing this substance forsinus infections. A systematic review of herbal medicines used for the treatment ofrhinosinusitis concluded that the evidence that any herbal medicines are beneficial in the treatment of rhinosinusitis is limited, and that forMyrtus there is insufficient data to verify the significance of clinical results.[14]In traditional Persian medicine myrtus communis, specially the leaves, are used to stop bleeding. In a research the aqueous extract of the leaves showed hemostatic activity in the rat tail-bleeding model.[15]
InGreek mythology and ritual the myrtle was sacred to the goddessesAphrodite[16] and alsoDemeter:Artemidorus asserts that in interpreting dreams "a myrtle garland signifies the same as an olive garland, except that it is especially auspicious for farmers because of Demeter and for women because of Aphrodite. For the plant is sacred to both goddesses."[17]Pausanias explains that one of the Graces in the sanctuary atElis holds a myrtle branch because "the rose and the myrtle are sacred to Aphrodite and connected with the story ofAdonis, while the Graces are of all deities the nearest related to Aphrodite." Myrtle is the garland ofIacchus, according toAristophanes,[18] and of the victors at theThebanIolaea, held in honour of the Theban heroIolaus.[19]
Two myths are connected to the myrtle; in the first,Myrsine was a chaste girl beloved byAthena who outdid all the other athletes, so they murdered her in retaliation. Athena turned her into a myrtle, which became sacred to her.[20] In the second,Myrina was a dedicated priestess of Aphrodite who was either abducted to be married or willingly wished to be married despite her vows. In any case, Aphrodite turned her into myrtle, and gave it fragrant smell, as her favourite and sacred plant.[21][22]
In Rome, Virgil explains that "the poplar is most dear toAlcides, the vine toBacchus, the myrtle to lovelyVenus, and his ownlaurel toPhoebus."[23] At theVeneralia, women bathed wearing crowns woven of myrtle branches, and myrtle was used in wedding rituals. In theAeneid, myrtle marks the grave of the murderedPolydorus inThrace.Aeneas' attempts to uproot the shrub cause the ground to bleed, and the voice of the dead Polydorus warns him to leave. The spears which impaled Polydorus have been magically transformed into the myrtle which marks his grave.[24]
InAfghan andPersian (Iranian) traditions, the myrtle leaves are used to avoid evil eyes. The leaves (preferably dry ones) are set on fire, fumigated and smoke is acquired like the same what is believed aboutPeganum harmala. InAfghanistan it's named "ماڼو" (māṇo).[25]
InJewish liturgy, the myrtle is one of thefour species (sacred plants) ofSukkot, representing the different types of personality making up the community. The myrtle having fragrance but not pleasant taste, represents those who have good deeds to their credit despite not having knowledge fromTorah study. The three branches are lashed or braided together by the worshipers apalm leaf, awillow bough, and a myrtle branch. Theetrog orcitron is the fruit held in the other hand as part of thelulav wave ritual.
Myrtle branches were sometimes given the bridegroom as he entered the nuptial chamber after a wedding (Tos. Sotah 15:8; Ketubot 17a). Myrtles are both the symbol and scent of theGarden of Eden (BhM II: 52; Sefer ha-Hezyonot 17). TheHekhalot text theMerkavah Rabbah requires one to suck on a myrtle leaves as an element of atheurgic ritual. Kabbalists link myrtle to thesefira ofTiferet and use sprigs in theirShabbat (especiallyHavdalah) rites to draw down its harmonizing power as the week is initiated (Shab. 33a; Zohar Chadash, SoS, 64d; Sha’ar ha-Kavvanot, 2, pp. 73–76).[26]
Myrtle leaves were added to the water in the last (seventh) rinsing of the head in the traditionalSephardictahara manual (teaching the ritual for washing the dead).[27] Myrtles are often used to recite a blessing over a fragrant plant during theHavdalah ceremony, as well as beforekiddush in some Sefardic andHasidic traditions.
In theMandaean religion, myrtle wreaths (klila) are used by priests in important religious rituals and ceremonies, such asbaptism and death masses (masiqta).[28] Myrtle wreaths also form part of thedarfash, the official symbol ofMandaeism consisting of an olive wooden cross covered with a white silk cloth.
In neo-pagan and wicca rituals, myrtle, though not indigenous beyond the Mediterranean Basin, is now commonly associated with and sacred toBeltane (May Day).
Myrtle in a wedding bouquet is a general European custom.[29]
A sprig of myrtle fromQueen Victoria's wedding bouquet was planted as a slip,[30] and sprigs from it have continually been included in royal wedding bouquets.
Because of its elegance of habit, appealing odour, and amenity to clipping by thetopiarius, as much as for sacred associations, the myrtle was an indispensable feature ofRoman gardens. As a reminder of home, it will have been introduced wherever Roman elites were settled, even in areas of theMediterranean Basin where it was not already endemic: "the Romans... must surely have attempted to establish a shrub so closely associated with their mythology and tradition," observesAlice Coats.[31] InGaul andBritannia it will not have proved hardy.
In England it was reintroduced in the 16th century, traditionally with the return from Spain in 1585 ofSir Walter Raleigh, who also brought with him the firstorange trees seen in England.[citation needed]Myrtus communis will have needed similar protection from winter cold and wet. Alice Coats[32] notes an earlier testimony: in 1562,Queen Elizabeth I's great ministerLord Burghley wrote to Mr Windebank in Paris to ask him for a lemon, a pomegranate and a myrtle, with instructions for their culture—which suggests that the myrtle, like the others, was not yet familiar.
By 1597,John Gerard lists six varieties being grown in southern England,[33] and by 1640John Parkinson noted a double-flowering one. Alice Coats suggests that this was the very same double that the diarist and gardenerJohn Evelyn noted "was first discovered by the incomparableNicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, which a mule had cropt from a wild shrub."
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, myrtles in cases, pots and tubs were brought out to summer in the garden and wintered with other tender greens in anorangery. Fairchild,The City Gardener (1722) notes their temporary use, rented from a nurseryman annually to fill an empty fireplace in the warm months.
With the influx to England of more dramatic tender plants and shrubs from Japan or Peru in the 19th century, it was more difficult to find room for the common myrtle of borderline hardiness.
Many other related plants native toSouth America,New Zealand and elsewhere, previously classified in a wider interpretation of the genusMyrtus, are now species within other genera, including:Eugenia,Lophomyrtus,Luma,Rhodomyrtus,Syzygium,Ugni, and at least a dozen other genera.
The name "myrtle" is also used in common names (vernacular names) of unrelated plants in several other genera, such as: "Crepe myrtle" (Lagerstroemia species and hybrids,Lythraceae); "Wax myrtle" (Morella species,Myricaceae); and "Creeping myrtle" (Vinca species,Apocynaceae).
