Flora of North America species comparison

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Myricaceae

Comptonia

bayberry family, wax-myrtle family

comptonie, sweet-fern
Habit Shrubs or small trees, evergreen or deciduous, usually aromatic and resinous. Shrubs, fragrant.
Roots

commonly with nitrogen-fixing nodules.

Branches

spreading-ascending, terete, pubescent to glabate, glandular when young.
Leaves

blade commonly with peltate, multicellular, glandular trichomes.

blade linear-lanceolate, with 2-10 rounded to pointed lobes, membranous, glabrous or densely pubescent and glandular.
Inflorescences

axillary catkins;

bracts present.

cylindric;

staminate eventually flexuous, pistillate globose-ovoid at maturity, appearing before leaves;

bracts ovate or cordate, glabrous or variously pubescent.
Flowers

usually unisexual, occasionally bisexual, staminate and pistillate flowers usually on different plants, occasionally on same plants;

perianth absent.

unisexual, staminate and pistillate usually on different plants, occasionally on same plants.
Staminate flowers

subtended by solitary bract;

stamens 2-14(-22), hypogynous or ± epigynous;

filaments filiform, distinct or basally connate;

anthers dorsifixed, 2-locular, extrorsely dehiscent by longitudinal slits.

stamens 3-8, shorter than subtending bract, filaments free or slightly fused.
Pistillate flowers

subtended by solitary bract, bracteoles present or absent, usually 2-4(-8);

pistils 1, 2-carpellate, 1-locular;

ovules 1, basal, erect;

styles, if present, short;

stigmas 2.

ovary subtended by persistent bract and 2 linear-subulate bracteoles at anthesis, bracteoles accrescent and developing 4-8 tertiary bracteoles (= scales of other authors), these longer than and concealing fruit;

styles 2, elongate.
Fruits

drupaceous or nutlike, smooth or often covered with warty protuberances, these commonly with waxy coating;

fruits sometimes enclosed by persistent, accrescent bracts and bracteoles.

oblong-ovoid, smooth (without protuberances), waxless.
Seeds

with little or no endosperm;

embryo straight, with 2 plano-convex cotyledons.

x

= 8.

Myricaceae

Comptonia
Distribution
Widespread in temperate and subtropical regions
[BONAP county map]
map from USDA
North America
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Genera 2-4, species ca. 50 (2 genera, 8 species in the flora).

Significant disagreement exists concerning the number of genera to be recognized in Myricaceae. Myrica in the broad sense is sometimes divided into three genera. Comptonia L'Héritier ex Aiton is often segregated on the basis of leaf type, presence of stipules, and the burlike fruits with 6-8 accrescent bracts and bracteoles. Morella Loureiro sometimes is elevated from its usual rank of subgenus to emphasize differences concerning position of the catkins, size of the staminate bracts, and appearance of the fruits (A. Chevalier 1901; J. R. Baird 1968). The real question is the appropriate rank at which recognition should be made (T. S. Elias 1971). I follow a traditional approach in recognizing just Myrica and Comptonia in North America.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Species 1 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Parent taxa Myricaceae
Subordinate taxa
Comptonia, Myrica
C. peregrina
Key
1. Leaves entire or serrate-denticulate, stipules absent; fruiting catkins short-cylindric; bracteoles 2-6, broadly ovate and equal to or shorter than fruits, or absent.
Myrica
1. Leaves pinnatifid, stipules present; fruiting catkins globose-ovoid; bracteoles 2 at anthesis, linear-subulate, accrescent, developing 4-8 tertiary bracteoles, these much exceeding fruit.
Comptonia
Name authority Blume L'Héritier ex Aiton: Hort. Kew. 3: 334. (1789)
Source FNA vol. 3, p. 429. Treatment author: Allan J. Bornstein. FNA vol. 3. Treatment author: Allan J. Bornstein.
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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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