''Myrica'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of about 35–50

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s and

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Myricaceae Myricaceae is a small family of dicotyledonous shrubs and small trees in the order Fagales with its type genus ''Myrica'', the sweet gales. There are three genera in the family, although some botanists separate many species from Myrica into a fo ...

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Fagales The Fagales are an order of flowering plants in the rosid group of dicotyledons, including some of the best-known trees. Well-known members of Fagales include: beeches, chestnuts, oaks, walnut, pecan, hickory, birches, alders, hazels, hornb ...

. The genus has a wide

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

, including

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and missing only from

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

and

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

. Some botanists split the genus into two genera on the basis of the

catkin A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind- pollinated ( anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in '' Salix''). It contains many, usually unisexual flowers, arra ...

and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

structure, restricting ''Myrica'' to a few species, and treating the others in ''Morella''.Valérie Huguet, Manolo Gouy, Philippe Normand, Jeff F. Zimpfer, and Maria P. Fernandez. 2005. "Molecular phylogeny of Myricaceae: a reexamination of host-symbiont specificity". ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 34(3):557–568. Common names include bayberry, bay-rum tree, candleberry, sweet gale, and wax-myrtle. The generic name was derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

word μυρίκη (''myrike''), meaning "fragrance".

Characteristics

The species vary from shrubs up to trees; some are

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, but the majority of species are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

. The

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

s have

nitrogen-fixing Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular dinitrogen () is converted into ammonia (). It occurs both biologically and abiological nitrogen fixation, abiologically in chemical industry, chemical industries. Biological nitrogen ...

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

which enable the plants to grow on soils that are very poor in

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

content. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are spirally arranged, simple, long, oblanceolate with a tapered base and broader tip, and a crinkled or finely toothed margin. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are

s, with male and female catkins usually on separate plants (

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

). The

is a small

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

, usually with a wax coating. The type species, ''

Myrica gale ''Myrica gale'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myricaceae native to parts of Eurasia and North America. Common names include bog-myrtle, sweet willow, Dutch myrtle, and sweetgale. Description ''Myrica gale'' is a deciduous shrub g ...

'', is

holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...

in distribution, growing in

acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

s throughout the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere; it is a deciduous shrub growing to 1m tall. The remaining species all have relatively small ranges, and are mostly warm-temperate. '' Myrica faya'' (''Morella faya''), native to the

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

islands of the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

and the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, has become an

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

on the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

an volcanoesWarren L. Wagner, Derral R. Herbst, and Sy H. Sohmer. ''Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii'', Revised Edition, 1999. Bishop Museum Press: Hololulu. where it was introduced in the 19th century; its ability to fix nitrogen makes it very well adapted to growing on low-nitrogen volcanic soils. The wax coating on the fruit is indigestible for most

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s, but a few species have adapted to be able to eat it, notably the yellow-rumped warbler and tree swallow in North America. As the wax is very energy-rich, this enables the yellow-rumped warbler to winter farther north in cooler climates than any other American warbler if bayberries are present. The

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s are then dispersed in the droppings of the birds. ''Myrica'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

species including

brown-tail The brown-tail moth (''Euproctis chrysorrhoea'') is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is native to Europe, neighboring countries in Asia, and the north coast of Africa. Descriptions of outbreaks, i.e., large population increases of several years ...

, emperor moth, and

winter moth The winter moth (''Operophtera brumata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is an abundant species in Europe and the Near East and a famous study organism for evaluating insect population dynamics. It is one of very few lepidopterans of te ...

as well as the bucculatricid leaf-miners ''Bucculatrix cidarella'', ''B. myricae'' (feeds exclusively on ''M. gale'') and ''B. paroptila'' and the ''

Coleophora ''Coleophora'' is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Many authors have t ...

'' case-bearers ''C. comptoniella'', ''C. pruniella'', and ''C. viminetella''.

Uses

Native Americans used bayberry medicinally. The root bark was pounded into powder and mixed with water to cure diarrhea. American pioneers sniffed the powder to counter nasal congestion. It was sometimes used in

poultice A poultice or cataplasm, also called a fomentation, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is applied to the skin to reduce inflammation, soothe pain, promote healing, or otherwise treat wounds or ailments. Soft materials like cer ...

s. The wax coating on the fruit of several species, known as bayberry wax, has been used traditionally to make

candle A candle is an ignitable candle wick, wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a Aroma compound, fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. ...

s. It was used for that purpose by the Robinson family in the novel ''

The Swiss Family Robinson ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'', "The Swiss Robinson") is a novel by the Swiss author Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Aus ...

''. The foliage of ''

'' is a traditional

insect repellent An insect repellent (also commonly called "bug spray" or "bug deterrent") is a substance applied to the skin, clothing, or other surfaces to discourage insects (and arthropods in general) from landing or climbing on that surface. Insect repellent ...

, used by campers to keep biting insects out of

tent A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...

s. Several species are also grown as ornamental plants in

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s. The fruit of ''

Myrica rubra ''Myrica rubra'', also called yangmei (; Cantonese: yeung4 mui4; Shanghainese: ), , Chinese bayberry, red bayberry, yumberry, waxberry, or Chinese strawberry (and often mistranslated from Chinese as arbutus) is a subtropical tree grown for its ...

'' is an economically important crop in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, sold fresh, dried, canned, for juice, for flavoring in snacks, and for alcoholic beverages. Myrica is used to spice

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

and

snaps In the Nordic countries, especially Denmark and Sweden, but not in Iceland, snaps ( , ), among many nicknames, is a small shot of a strong alcoholic beverage taken during the course of a meal. In Denmark, a snaps will always be akvavit, althou ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The leaves can add flavor to soups and broths. They can be dried and stored in jars to be used as a spice.

Species

''Myrica'' comprises the following species: *'' Myrica adenophora'' Hance *'' Myrica arborea'' Hutch. *'' Myrica brevifolia'' E.Mey. ex C.DC. – dwarf waxberry *'' Myrica cacuminis'' Britton & P.Wilson *''

Myrica californica ''Myrica californica'' (California bayberry, California wax myrtle or Pacific wax myrtle is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Pacific coast of North America. Description It grows to tall, and has serrated, sticky green leaves lo ...

'' Cham. – California bayberry *'' Myrica caroliniensis'' Mill. – southern bayberry *''

Myrica cerifera ''Myrica cerifera'' is an evergreen tree or large shrub native to North and Central America and the Caribbean. Its common names include southern wax myrtle, southern bayberry, candleberry, bayberry tree, and tallow shrub. It has uses in the garde ...

'' L. – wax-myrtle, southern wax-myrtle *'' Myrica chevalieri'' (Parra-Os.) Christenh. & Byng *'' Myrica chimanimaniana'' (Verdc. & Polhill) Christenh. & Byng *'' Myrica cordifolia'' L. – dune waxberry *'' Myrica dentulata'' Baill. *'' Myrica esculenta'' Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don *'' Myrica faya'' Aiton – faya bayberry *'' Myrica funckii'' A.Chev. *''

'' L. – sweet gale or bog-myrtle *'' Myrica goetzei'' Engl. *'' Myrica hartwegii'' S.Watson – Sierra bayberry *'' Myrica holdridgeana'' Lundell *'' Myrica humilis'' Cham. *'' Myrica inodora'' W.Bartram – scentless bayberry *'' Myrica integra'' (A.Chev.) Killick *'' Myrica integrifolia'' Roxb. *'' Myrica interrupta'' Benth. *'' Myrica javanica'' Blume *'' Myrica kandtiana'' Engl. *'' Myrica kilimandscharica'' Engl. *'' Myrica kraussiana'' Buchinger *'' Myrica lindeniana'' C.DC. *'' Myrica meyeri-johannis'' Engl. *'' Myrica microbracteata'' Weim. *'' Myrica mildbraedii'' Engl. *'' Myrica nana'' A.Chev. *'' Myrica parvifolia'' Benth. *'' Myrica pavonis'' C.DC. *'' Myrica pensylvanica'' Mirb. – northern bayberry *'' Myrica phanerodonta'' Standl. *'' Myrica picardae'' Krug & Urb. *'' Myrica pilulifera'' Rendle – broad-leaved waxberry *'' Myrica pringlei'' Greenm. *'' Myrica pubescens'' Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd. *'' Myrica punctata'' Griseb. *'' Myrica pusilla'' Raf. *'' Myrica quercifolia'' L. – oak waxberry *'' Myrica rotundata'' Steyerm. & Maguire *''

'' ( Lour.)

Siebold Siebold or von Siebold is a German language, German surname. It is a patronymic surname derived from the given name Siebold, which consists of the Old High German words ''sigu'' ("Victory") and ''bold'' ("strong"). Notable people with the surname ...

& Zucc. – ''yang mei'', Chinese bayberry, yumberry *'' Myrica salicifolia'' Hochst. ex A.Rich. *''

Myrica serrata ''Myrica'' is a genus of about 35–50 species of small trees and shrubs in the family Myricaceae, order Fagales. The genus has a wide distribution, including Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, and missing only from Antarc ...

'' Lam. – lance-leaved waxberry *'' Myrica shaferi'' Urb. & Britton *'' Myrica singularis'' Parra-Os. *'' Myrica spathulata'' Mirb.

Species names with uncertain taxonomic status

The status of the following species and hybrids is unresolved: * ''Morella × macfarlanei'' (Youngken) Kartesz * ''Morella pumila'' Small * ''Myrica aethiopica'' L. * ''Myrica alaternoides'' Crantz * ''Myrica algarbiensis'' Gand. * ''Myrica altera'' C.DC. * ''Myrica apiculata'' Urb. & Ekman * ''Myrica arabica'' Willd. * ''Myrica auriculata'' Ridl. * ''Myrica australasica'' F.Muell. * ''Myrica banksiifolia'' J.C.Wendl. * ''Myrica bojeriana'' Baker * ''Myrica'' × ''burbankii'' A.Chev. * ''Myrica burmannii'' E. Mey. ex C. Dc. * ''Myrica capensis'' Steud. * ''Myrica carolenensis'' A.Rich. * ''Myrica caroliniana'' Ettingsh. * ''Myrica conifera'' Burm.f. * ''Myrica domingana'' C.DC. * ''Myrica dregeana'' A.Chev. * ''Myrica elliptica'' A.Chev. * ''Myrica esquirolii'' H.Lév. * ''Myrica fallax'' DC. * ''Myrica florida'' Regel * ''Myrica fuscata'' Raf. * ''Myrica glabrissima'' A.Chev. * ''Myrica hirsuta'' Mill. * ''Myrica holtzii'' Engl. & Brehmer * ''Myrica humbertii'' Staner & Lebrun * ''Myrica ilicifolia'' Burm.f. * ''Myrica jamaicensis'' R.A.Howard & Proctor * ''Myrica laciniata'' Willd. * ''Myrica latiloba'' Heer * ''Myrica lobbii'' Teijsm. & Binn. ex Miq. * ''Myrica longifolia'' Teijsm. & Binn. ex C.DC. * ''Myrica macrophylla'' Mirb. * ''Myrica microcarpa'' Benth. * ''Myrica microstachya'' Krug & Urb. * ''Myrica montana'' Vahl * ''Myrica mossii'' Burtt Davy * ''Myrica myrtifolia'' A.Chev. * ''Myrica nagi'' Thunb. * ''Myrica natalensis'' C.DC. * ''Myrica oligadenia'' Peter * ''Myrica ovata'' H.L.Wendl. * ''Myrica pusilla'' Raf. * ''Myrica reticulata'' Krug & Urb. * ''

Myrica rivas-martinezii ''Myrica rivas-martinezii'' is a species of plant in the Myricaceae family. It is endemic to three of the Canary Islands (Spain). It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs w ...

'' A.Santos * ''Myrica rogersii'' Burtt Davy * ''Myrica roraimae'' Oliv. * ''Myrica rothmaleriana'' P.Silva * ''Myrica rotundifolia'' Salisb. * ''Myrica tomentosa'' Asch. & Graebn. * ''Myrica trifoliata'' Turpin * ''Myrica trifoliata'' L. * ''Myrica trifoliolata'' DC. * ''Myrica undulata'' Raf. * ''Myrica usambarensis'' Engl. * ''Myrica verrucosa'' Raf. * ''Myrica vidaliana'' Rolfe

Formerly placed here

*''

Balakata luzonica ''Balakata luzonica'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is distributed from the Philippines to New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the Li ...

'' (as ''M. luzonica'' S.Vidal)''Balakata''.
Malesian Euphorbiaceae Descriptions. National Herbarium Nederland. *'' Comptonia peregrina'' (L.) J.M.Coult. (as ''M. aspleniifolia'' L.) *'' Nageia nagi'' (Thunb.) Kuntze (as ''M. nagi'' Thunb.)

References

External links

Flora Europaea: ''Myrica''Flora of China: ''Myrica''Flora of North America: ''Myrica''Trees and shrubs of Ecuador: ''Myrica''Monograph on the medicinal and clinical uses of ''Myrica cerifera''
{{Authority control Dioecious plants Fagales genera