This month we meet True Myrtle (Myrtus communis) a plant beloved in the geographical regions where it grows. Myrtle is an aromatic evergreen shrub or tree and belongs to the family of Myrtaceae. You may find it when visiting SNFCC along by the Canal and in Stavros Niarchos Park.
A plant of great beauty due to its foliage delicate appearance, the rich efflorescence during mid-summer and the attractive fresh fragrant release. It is native to the Mediterranean region.
The leaves of Myrtle are thick and lustrous, with many small, translucent, oil-bearing glands visible in light as superficial spots. The small, solitary, white flowers have five petals and numerous stamens while the fruit, once ripen, is a round berry most commonly blue-black in color.
The plant is heat tolerant and quite tolerant to sea salty sprays, offering the landscape a natural vision blocker wall thanks to its rich foliage.
Myrtle’s fragrant essential oil was traditionally used in colognes and skin tonics. It was also used in antiquity for herbal remedies and medicines as an astringent, an antiseptic, a decongestant and to heal wounds. Myrtus communis is used in Italy to produce an aromatic liqueur called Mirto and as a pepper substitute.
Myrtle occupies a prominent place in mythology, sacred plant to the goddesses Aphrodite and therefore has a long association with beauty and immortality, while traditionally, it still decorates the wedding ceremonies. Myrtle has been always represented to ancient jewelry; a characteristic example is the gold-sheet myrtle wreath (c.330 BC) found in Vergina.
