Sweet Gale is a low, aromatic shrub of northern bogs and lakeshores with highly fragrant leaves that repel insects. It is a nitrogen-fixer, thriving in the nutrient-poor soils of sphagnum bogs where it helps build up organic matter. Numerous waterfowl and shore-nesting birds use its dense branches for cover and nest materials.
Habitat
Sphagnum bogs, lake margins, and stream banks in boreal and cool-temperate zones
Diet
Catkins eaten by grouse; provides cover for nesting waterfowl
How common
Common
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