Carolina Nature

Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera)

Plantae>Magnoliophyta>Magnoliopsida>Myricales>Myricaceae>Morella cerifera (L.) Small

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera)

Wax Myrtle is an abundant large shrub or small tree in the Coastal Plain, especially at the immediate coast.

Durham Co., NC 6/27/09.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera)

Wax Myrtle is uncommon at the edge of its range in the NC Piedmont, but frequently planted and probably escapes from cultivation.

Durham Co., NC 6/27/09.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera)

Durham Co., NC 6/27/09.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera)

The leaves are evergreen, with yellow glands on both the undersides and uppersides, and very fragrant when crushed.

Durham Co., NC 6/27/09.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera)

Detail of leaf underside showing the yellow resin glands.

Durham Co., NC 6/27/09.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera)

Durham Co., NC 6/27/09.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera)

Bladen Co., NC 10/7/06.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera) leaf

Also called Common Wax-myrtle, Morella cerifera is similar to its less common and much smaller sister species Morella pumila (Dwarf Wax-myrtle), which is stoloniferous (spreading by underground runners) and usually grows less than 3 feet tall.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera)

Wax Myrtle is also similar to the less abundant (but still common) Southern Bayberry (Morella caroliniensis), but that species has broader leaves with resin glands only on the leaf undersides. Confusingly, Morella cerifera is also sometimes called Southern Bayberry.

Dare Co., NC 11/11/06.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera)

Morella cerifera is still more commonly known by its old name Myrica cerifera.

One species of bird is named for its stong association with Wax Myrtle on its wintering grounds -- the Myrtle Warbler (Dendroica coronata coronata).

Dare Co., NC 11/3/05.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera) fruits

The fruits have a waxy coating, which along with the plant's slightly myrtle-like leaves, gives it the common name Wax-Myrtle. The true Myrtle (Myrtus communis) is a European shrub with small, narrow evergreen leaves.

Dare Co., NC 11/3/05.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera) fruits

Fruit detail. The specific epithet cerifera means "wax-bearing" in Latin. The wax may be used to make bayberry candles, though those are usually made from the larger-fruited Northern Bayberry (M. pensylvanica). Northern Bayberry is much less common in NC, occuring in dunes from Dare Co. northward. It has broader leaves than Wax-Myrtle.

Dare Co., NC 11/11/06.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera) flowers

Pistillate (female) catkins.

Pender Co., NC 4/23/06.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera) flowers

Staminate (male) catkins.

Pender Co., NC 4/23/06.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera)

Carteret Co., NC 4/14/07.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera)

Carteret Co., NC 4/14/07.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera) fruits

Dare Co., NC 11/7/08.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera) fruits

Dare Co., NC 11/7/08.

Wax Myrtle (Morella cerifera) bark

The smoothish pale gray bark is often covered with lichens.

Dare Co., NC 11/11/06.

Bark of a larger tree, showing horizontally elongated lenticels.

Bladen Co., NC 10/7/06.

More information:
Floridata
Trees of Alabama and the Southeast
University of Texas
Virginia Tech Dendrology

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