Flora of North America species comparison

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Myrica

Myrica inodora

bayberry, myrique, sweet gale, wax-myrtle

candleberry, odorless bayberry, odorless wax-myrtle, scentless bayberry, waxberry, waxtree
Habit Shrubs or small trees, often aromatic and resinous. Shrubs or small trees, evergreen, to 7 m.
Branches

spreading, terete, glabrous or pubescent, often gland-dotted.

Branchlets

reddish brown and gland-dotted when young, glands colorless to white.
Leaves

blade aromatic when crushed (except M. inodora), oblanceolate, elliptic, obovate, or oblong-ovate, membranous or leathery, margins entire or serrate-denticulate, especially in distal 1/2, pubescent or glabrous, usually gland-dotted.

blade lacking odor when crushed, oblong-obovate to elliptic, 3.5-10.5(-11.8) × 1.4-3.7(-4.4) cm, leathery, base attenuate to cuneate, margins entire, rarely serrate distally, slightly revolute, apex acute to rounded;

surfaces abaxially pale green, glabrous, sometimes with a few scattered hairs, adaxially dark green, shiny, glabrous, both surfaces gland-dotted, pitted;

glands minute, colorless or white.
Inflorescences

± erect, ellipsoid to short-cylindric or ovoid, appearing before or with leaves;

bracts ovate, glabrous or variously pubescent.

staminate 0.7-2.2 cm;

pistillate 0.4-4(-5) cm.
Flowers

unisexual, rarely bisexual, staminate and pistillate flowers usually on different plants, infrequently on same plants.

unisexual, staminate and pistillate on same plants.
Staminate flowers

stamens (2-)3-12(-22), shorter or longer than subtending bract;

filaments mostly distinct, often connate into branching staminal column, each branch terminated by anther;

rudimentary ovary occasionally present.

bract of flower shorter than staminal column, margins opaque, densely ciliate;

stamens mostly 6-10, as few as 3 in more distal flowers.
Pistillate flowers

ovary subtended by 2-6 broadly ovate bracteoles, these sometimes persistent and accrescent, always shorter than fruit, sometimes completely absent;

styles short.

bracteoles persistent, 4, obscure in fruit, not accrescent or adnate to fruit wall, glabrous except for ciliate margins;

ovary densely villous.
Fruits

globose or ovoid to lenticular, smooth or more commonly with warty protuberances, usually covered with waxy coating that dries white.

globose-ellipsoid, 4-8 mm;

fruit wall densely pubescent, obscured by enlarged, glandular protuberances and thin (usually) coat of white-gray wax.
x

= 8.

Myrica

Myrica inodora
Phenology Flowering late winter–early spring, fruiting mid summer.
Habitat Coastal pineland swamps, swamp margins, bogs, pond edges, and stream banks
Elevation 0-10 m [0-30 ft]
Distribution
map from USDA
Nearly worldwide
[BONAP county map]
map from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

Species ca. 50 (7 in the flora).

Myrica is often cultivated. Myrica species were used by various tribes of Native Americans for medicinal purposes. Leaves were used for a gynecological aid and an emetic; the bark, as a blood purifier and a kidney aid (D. E. Moerman 1986). Bayberry candles were used by early settlers, and they remain popular household items, both decorative and functional.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Parent taxa Myricaceae Myricaceae > Myrica
Sibling taxa
M. californica, M. cerifera, M. gale, M. hartwegii, M. heterophylla, M. pensylvanica
Subordinate taxa
M. californica, M. cerifera, M. gale, M. hartwegii, M. heterophylla, M. inodora, M. pensylvanica
Key
1. Bracts of staminate flowers longer than stamens; bracteoles of pistillate flowers 2, accrescent and adnate to fruit; fruits smooth (without protuberances), lacking waxy deposit (subg. Myrica).
→ 2
1. Bracts of staminate flowers shorter than stamens; bracteoles of pistillate flowers 4–6, not accrescent or adnate to fruit; fruits with numerous protuberances, usually covered with waxy coating that dries white or blue-white to gray (subg. Morella Loureiro).
→ 3
2. Bracteoles of pistillate flowers glabrous; leaf margins serrate, usually minutely so, with 1–4 pairs of teeth restricted to distal 1/3 of blade; not extending s of Oregon in w part of range.
M. gale
2. Bracteoles of pistillate flowers densely pilose, especially at apex; leaf margins serrate, often coarsely so, with 4–12 pairs of teeth ± in distal 1/2 of blade; California only.
M. hartwegii
3. Staminate flowers with 6 or more stamens, rarely 2–3, especially in distal flowers; fruit wall, but not warty protuberances, pubescent.
→ 4
3. Staminate flowers with 3–5(–7) stamens; fruit wall usually glabrous, if pubescent, warty protuberances also pubescent.
→ 5
4. Margins of leaf blade entire, rarely serrate at apex; blade not aromatic when crushed; flowers unisexual, staminate and pistillate on different plants; restricted to Gulf Coast region.
M. inodora
4. Margins of leaf blade conspicuously serrate almost their entire length; blade fragrant when crushed; flowers bisexual, staminate, and pistillate, all on same plant; Pacific Coast region.
M. californica
5. Leaf blade densely glandular on both surfaces.
M. cerifera
5. Leaf blade densely glandular only abaxially.
→ 6
6. Fruit wall and warty protuberances densely hirsute when young; branches whitish gray in age; leaves deciduous, membranous; fruits 3.5–5.5 mm.
M. pensylvanica
6. Fruit wall glabrous or sparsely glandular, warty protuberances ± glandular; branches black; leaves persistent or tardily deciduous, leathery; fruits 3–4.5 mm.
M. heterophylla
Synonyms Cerothamnus, Gale, Morella Cerothamnus inodorus, Morella inodora, M. laureola, M. obovata
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1024. 175: Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 449. (1754) W. Bartram: Travels Carolina, 403. (1791)
Source FNA vol. 3. Treatment author: Allan J. Bornstein. FNA vol. 3. Treatment author: Allan J. Bornstein.
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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