Tree Description
A shrub or small, multi-trunked tree to 20 feet tall and a trunk to 6″ in diameter, with an open crown of light green foliage.
Range / Site Description
Streambanks, swamps, and seasonally wet areas in East Texas. Also used extensively as a landscape shrub or tree for parking lots, commercial, and residential landscapes throughout East and Central Texas.
Leaf
Simple, alternate, 2″ to 4″ long and 0.5″ to 0.75″ wide, obovate, with a few sharp teeth along the upper half of the leaf margin. Leaves are evergreen, light green in color, and shiny above.
Flower & Fruit
Male and female flowers on separate trees. Male flowers appear along the twigs in spring as short, 0.5″long, yellowish catkins; female flowers similare in size and shape to the male flowers, but reddish.
A round, light green drupe, about 0.1″ to 0.2″ in diameter, clustered along the twigs, each fruit covered with a thick coating of whitish wax.
Interesting Facts
Waxmyrtle or bayberry leaves cann be used for seasoning meats, sauces, soups, stews and as a tea. The fruits have can be used for making candles for the wax and fragrance.
Species Summary
| Scientific Name: | Morella cerifera |
| Secondary Names: | Southern bayberry |
| Tree Type: | Evergreen |
| Dimensions: | Height: 20 feet Trunk Diameter: 6 inches |
| Leaf Structure: | Simple, alternate |
| Leaf Size: | 2″ to 4″ long and 0.5″ to 0.75″ wide |
| Leaf Shape: | Obovate |
| Leaf Margin: | Entire, serrate |
| Additional Information: | iNaturalist – Wax Myrtle |
Source: Texas A&M Forest Service Trees of Texas – Wax Myrtle