Myrtus
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] | |
Myrthus Scop. |
Myrtus (commonly called myrtle) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. It was first described by Swedish botanist Linnaeus 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 genus Myrtus has three species recognised today:[5]
- Myrtus communis – Common myrtle; native to the Mediterranean region in southern Europe
- Myrtus nivellei – Saharan myrtle; native to North Africa
- Myrtus phyllireaefolia
Description
Common myrtle
The plant is an evergreen shrub or small tree, growing to 5 metres (16 ft) tall. The leaf is entire, 3–5 cm long, with a fragrant essential oil.
The star-like flower has five petals and sepals, and numerous stamens. Petals usually are white. The flower is pollinated by insects.
The fruit is a round berry containing several seeds, most commonly blue-black in colour. A variety with yellow-amber berries is also present. The seeds are dispersed by birds that eat the berries.
Saharan myrtle
It occurs in small areas of sparse relict woodland at montane elevations above the central Saharan desert plains.[6]
It is a traditional
Fossil record
Two hundred and fifty
Uses
Gardening
Myrtus communis is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant for use as a shrub in gardens and parks. It is often used as a hedge 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 the subspecies M. communis subsp. tarentina have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[8][9]
Culinary
Myrtus communis is used in the islands of
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 Italian Mortadella sausage and the related American Bologna 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.
Medicinal
Myrtle, along with
In several countries, particularly in Europe and China, there has been a tradition for prescribing this substance for sinus infections. A systematic review of herbal medicines used for the treatment of rhinosinusitis concluded that the evidence that any herbal medicines are beneficial in the treatment of rhinosinusitis is limited, and that for Myrtus 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]
In myth and ritual
Classical
In Greek mythology and ritual the myrtle was sacred to the goddesses Aphrodite[16] and also Demeter: 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 at Elis holds a myrtle branch because "the rose and the myrtle are sacred to Aphrodite and connected with the story of Adonis, while the Graces are of all deities the nearest related to Aphrodite." Myrtle is the garland of Iacchus, according to Aristophanes,[18] and of the victors at the Theban Iolaea, held in honour of the Theban hero Iolaus.[19]
Two myths are connected to the myrtle; in the first, Myrsine was a chaste girl beloved by Athena 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 entered marriage in spite of 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 to
Afghan Tradition
In Afghan and Persian (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 about Peganum harmala. In Afghanistan it's named "ماڼو" (māṇo). [25]
Jewish
In
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 the Garden of Eden (BhM II: 52; Sefer ha-Hezyonot 17). The Hekhalot text the Merkavah Rabbah requires one to suck on a myrtle leaves as an element of a theurgic ritual. Kabbalists link myrtle to the sefira of Tiferet and use sprigs in their Shabbat (especially Havdalah) 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 traditional
Mandaean
In the
Contemporary
In neo-pagan and wicca rituals, myrtle, though not indigenous beyond the Mediterranean Basin, is now commonly associated with and sacred to Beltane (May Day).
Myrtle in a wedding bouquet is a general European custom.[29]
A sprig of myrtle from Queen Victoria's wedding bouquet was planted as a slip,[30] and sprigs from it have continually been included in royal wedding bouquets.
Garden history
Rome
Because of its elegance of habit, appealing odour, and amenity to clipping by the
England
In England it was reintroduced in the 16th century, traditionally with the return from Spain in 1585 of
By 1597, John Gerard lists six varieties being grown in southern England,[33] and by 1640 John Parkinson noted a double-flowering one. Alice Coats suggests that this was the very same double that the diarist and gardener John Evelyn noted "was first discovered by the incomparable Nicolas-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 an orangery. 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.
Related plants
Many other related plants native to South America, New Zealand and elsewhere, previously classified in a wider interpretation of the genus Myrtus, 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).
References
- ^ lectotype designated by A.P. de Candolle, Note Myrt. 7 (1826)
- ^ a b Tropicos, Myrtus L.
- ^ 1885 illustration from Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885, Gera, Germany
- ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^ The Plant List, retrieved 13 August 2016
- ^ a b c Uicnmed.org: Myrtus nivellei - Batt & Trab. - Myrtaceae . accessed 1.10.2014.
- ^ Angiosperm Fruits and Seeds from the Middle Miocene of Jutland (Denmark) by Else Marie Friis, The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters 24:3, 1985
- ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Myrtus communis". Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Myrtus communis subsp. tarentina". Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- ^ it:Liquore di mirto
- ^ "Myrtle". The Epicentre. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ Pharmacographia Indica (1891 edition), London
- ^ Celsus, Aulus. "De Medicina". Retrieved 10 January 2022.
- S2CID 42625009.
- ^ Ebrahimi F, Mahmoudi J, Torbati M, Karimi P, Valizadeh H. Hemostatic activity of aqueous extract of Myrtus communis L. leaf in topical formulation: In vivo and in vitro evaluations. J Ethnopharmacol. 2020 Mar 1;249:112398. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2019.112398. Epub 2019 Nov 23. PMID: 31770566.
- ^ V. Pirenne-Delforge, "Épithètes cultuelles et interpretation philosophique: à propos d’Aphrodite Ourania et Pandémos à Athènes." AntCl 57 (1980::142-57) p. 413.
- Hugh G. Evelyn-White).
- ^ Aristophanes, The Frogs, the Iacchus chorus, 330ff.
- ^ Pindar, Isthmian Ode IV.
- ISBN 978-90-04-12272-7.
- Brill's New Pauly. Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 09 January 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-8232-2892-8.
- ^ Virgil, Eclogue VII.61-63.
- ^ Aeneid III, 19-68, accessed 13 March 2014
- ^ [1] ماڼو (صفیه حلیم وېبپاڼه)
- ^ List of plants in the Bible
- ^ Service for Preparing the Dead for Burial, as Used in the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation, Shearith Israel, NY City, Published by the Society "Hebra Hased ba'Amet", New York, 1913, available at www.Jewish-Funerals.org
- OCLC 65198443.
- ^ Marcel De Cleene, Marie Claire Lejeune, eds. Compendium of symbolic and ritual plants in Europe Volume 1, 2003:444.
- ^ "in a churchyard at Cowes, on the Isle of Wight" according to Vivian A. Rich, Cursing the Basil: And Other Folklore of the Garden 1998:18.
- ^ Alice M. Coats, Garden Shrubs and Their Histories (1964) 1992, s.v. "Myrtus".
- ^ Coats (1964) 1992.
- ^ Gerard, The Herball, 1597.
External links
- Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.), from Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages
- www.myrtus-communis.de (German)
- Myrtus in Flora Europaea