A real West-of-Ireland shrub, Bog-myrtle loves acid soil, lake shores and bogland. In impenetrable little thickets, it grows to about 1 metre tall, having red-brown, twiggy stems. From April to May, little catkins grow – orange and red, on different plants; the male (orange) are each 15mm long with 4 stamens, the female (red) only 6mm long. The oval to lanceolate leaves are downy below, almost hairless, and a distinctive fragrance of resin emanates from them and from small yellow dots which grow on the branches. This is a native plant and it belongs to the Myricaceae family.
I first identified this plant growing near Derrynane, Co Kerry in 1977 and I photographed it in Corr na Móna, Lough Corrib, Co Galway in 2009 when Sorcha Pierce of *Grasshopper Cottage generously shared her knowledge of the flora of that area with me. * www.troutfishingireland.com
If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre
