Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Morella cerifera
FAMILY
Myricaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Common Wax-myrtle at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Morella cerifera
FAMILY
Myricaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Morella cerifera
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Myrica cerifera
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 052-03-001a:
Myrica cerifera var. cerifera FAMILY Myricaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cerothamnus ceriferus
COMMON NAME:
Common Wax-myrtle, Southern Bayberry
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_196
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_moce2_002_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_myce_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0502f_08
February Horry County SC
Myrtle Beach State Park
)
JK Marlow s050227_i
February Horry County SC
Myrtle Beach State Park
Leaf blades oblanceolate; margins irregularly serrate near tip, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow s050227_j
February Horry County SC
Myrtle Beach State Park
Leaves distinctly punctate on both surfaces, aromatic when crushed, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm0303m_24
March Pickens County SC
SC Botanical Garden
A taxonomically difficult group with intergrading species, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_141721875287964
April Orange County NC
North Carolina Botanical Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0304h_06
April Beaufort County SC
Hunting Island State Park
)
Keith Bradley kab_morella_cerifera_4447
April Sumter County SC
Mill Creek Park
Male flowers in sessile, axillary, dense cylindrical catkins, 6-10mm x 4-6mm, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
JK Marlow jkm090516_083
May Charleston County SC
Bark whitish to gray, thin, smooth, with conspicous horizontal lenticels, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm0309r_13
September Georgetown County SC
Huntington Beach State Park
Myrtle Beach, SC, gets its name from this plant, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
Paul Thompson pstmyrica_cerifera
September?
Leaf shape is oblanceolate; margins are serrate towards the tip. — Clemson Extension
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_477955987824338
December Georgetown County SC
The berries are covered with wax that was/is used to make fragrant candles, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Morella cerifera
FAMILY
Myricaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Morella cerifera
FAMILY
Myricaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Morella cerifera
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Myrica cerifera
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 052-03-001a:
Myrica cerifera var. cerifera
FAMILY
Myricaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cerothamnus ceriferus
961
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Dioecious
Habitat: Interdune swales (where often dominant), pocosins, brackish marshes, other wet to moist habitats, now also widely planted (including in the Piedmont) as an ornamental or landscaping shrub and persistent or naturalizing in suburban woodlands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas & Georgia, and the GA Piedmont
Common in Coastal Plain (rare elsewhere, where mostly introduced)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen (usually)
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Sepals absent
Petals absent
Superior ovary
Unisexual
Flowers in catkins
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Waxy gray
Drupe-like
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p366?
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p057
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p353
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p341
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p502
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p079
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p255
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p081
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p054
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p246
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p231
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p206
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p085
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p216
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p072
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