Pollutant-absorbing myrtle benefits overlooked

Myrtle plant Beirut  – Anwar Akl Daww The myrtle plant has not enjoyed the kind of attention it deserves given its environmental, economic and health benefits, which has allowed these wild shrubs to languish in absurdity and neglect. Even the “domesticated” type has been starved of care, its presence reduced to a single shrub in front of some small Lebanese houses. A perennial plan, living up to 50 years or more, farmers have not sought to stock up plants as essential farming. Its fruits are only sold in very small quantities in local markets. This is partly because it is difficult to pick the little white fruits, but also because financial returns are meagre.

“We sell the leftover fruits so they don’t rot on the trees and at rates cheaper than picking costs,” said farmer Fady al-Aawar. “We appreciate the value of myrtle, but it doesn’t bring revenue,” he said.
There is a problem, however, which puts myrtle at the top of the list of endangered plants in Lebanon. This is the popularity of cutting and picking its branches and selling them to florists. Rarely do we see a bouquet that does not include some green myrtle flowers, especially as these plants are evergreen and its twigs and leaves are fragrant. This characteristic has caused myrtle to be referred to in Lebanon by another name: basil, even though botanical encyclopaedias tell us that basil and myrtle are not even remotely related. Scientific reference books give myrtle many names. In the Levant, it is known as hiblas fruit, or hab el-as. In Egypt and Turkey, it is called miriseen. In Yemen and the south of the Arabian Peninsula, it is known as al-huds. Maghreb countries refer to it as halmous, merd and ehmam. In Oman, it is known as elias and the list goes on.
From the Pharaohs and to the Ancient Greeks
Agricultural production expert Dr Diana Meroush Abu Saad said “myrtle belongs to the family Myrtaceae and its Latin name is Mytus. It is an ancient plant well-known to the Pharaohs and Ancient Greeks. Drawings of its branches appeared on the walls of some tombs in Egypt.”
“Myrtle isn’t only endangered in Lebanon but also in Algeria. It also exists in Europe and America and used a lot as shrubbery,” she said.

“Myrtle shrubs are used to make fences and separators in public and private gardens. In Iraq, these shrubs are prayed with water in order to humidify the air and take the edge off the heat,” she added.
The plant absorbs dust and carbon dioxide and other pollutants, she said.
“It is easy to grow. Swallows and bats help inseminate it and it could be grown as a form of alternative farming.”
The Beekeepers’ Co-op
The Beekeepers’ Co-op was first to warn about the violations against and excessive branch-picking of the myrtle plant. Researcher Andulnasser al-Massri said “myrtle is a wild evergreen plant, the domesticated variety of which has smaller fruits than the wild. It has an exceptional fragrance making it especially useful for beekeepers.”
He said it is one of the nectar-producing plants used to make Lebanese honey and is found in many different areas, especially in water-rich sandy soil.
Al-Massri said “groups of people now live on cutting myrtle branches and selling them to florists in some cases without even the permission of the landowners.”

“There can be a balance between the needs of the people and preserving the renewal of the shrubs,” al-Massri noted, before adding that “unfortunately the cutting is excessive.” He went on to describe a “timeframe during which we may cut the plants given certain conditions and in such a way as to prevent its extinction while also benefiting the beekeeper.”
The myrtle flower distinguished Lebanese honey and increases its quality and nutritional value. “It is a pollen-rich source. Bees can’t raise the young without pollen: a natural source of protein,” he said.
Green Hand lends its hand
Head of the Green Hand Association, Zaher Radwan, said “we are aiming to promote alternative farming, especially for medicinal and perfuming purposes.”
He spoke on an experiment involving myrtle in which 500 cuttings were distributed in the south of Lebanon among some farmers. “We used two types of myrtles: white-fruit and black-fruit, and we await the production stage in order to encourage and train farmer to sell the leaves and fruits,” he said.
He said they are now conducting studies into marketing myrtle oil and trying to find external markets to link local production.
“This project is extremely vital, especially since the parts of the plant used are the leaves, fruits and essential oils,” he said.
Between the random and excessive cutting of myrtle branches, a question remains: How can we make use of it as a natural resource, from its leaves to its fruits and the medicinal and aromatic oils extracted from it? These questions we leave with the relevant authorities, especially as procedures have been proposed to prevent the plant’s extinction.