Sweet gale

This small (1.25 m) perennial shrub gives off a pleasant odour and grows in colonies. Its highly ramified stem is recumbent at the base and upright higher up. The leaves are alternate, upright, narrow at the base, broader and rounded at the tip, with sharp teeth along the upper third of the edge. They are covered in tiny resin droplets. The flowers, both male and female, have neither petals nor sepals and are grouped in catkins (cylindrical spikes). The male inflorescences are a lovely burnt orange colour. The fruit is a small round, flattened, winged seed (0.4 cm). It is brown with orangish resin spots.