myrica cerifera

Noun

Synonyms: bay myrtle puckerbush Myrica cerifera

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

evergreen aromatic shrubby tree of southeastern United States having small hard berries thickly coated with white wax used for candlesSynonyms: bay myrtle puckerbush Myrica cerifera

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Myrtle \Myr"tle\ (m[~e]r"t'l), n. [F. myrtil bilberry, prop., a little myrtle, from myrte myrtle, L. myrtus, murtus, Gr. my`rtos; cf. Per. m[=u]rd.] (Bot.) A species of the genus Myrtus, especially Myrtus communis. The common myrtle has a shrubby, upright stem, eight or ten feet high. Its branches form a close, full head, thickly covered with ovate or lanceolate evergreen leaves. It has solitary axillary white or rosy flowers, followed by black several-seeded berries. The ancients considered it sacred to Venus. The flowers, leaves, and berries are used variously in perfumery and as a condiment, and the beautifully mottled wood is used in turning. [1913 Webster]

Note: The name is also popularly but wrongly applied in America to two creeping plants, the blue-flowered periwinkle and the yellow-flowered moneywort. In the West Indies several myrtaceous shrubs are called myrtle. [1913 Webster]

Bog myrtle, the sweet gale.

Crape myrtle. See under Crape.

Myrtle warbler (Zool.), a North American wood warbler (Dendroica coronata); -- called also myrtle bird, yellow-rumped warbler, and yellow-crowned warbler.

Myrtle wax. (Bot.) See Bayberry tallow, under Bayberry.

Sand myrtle, a low, branching evergreen shrub (Leiophyllum buxifolium), growing in New Jersey and southward.

Wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera). See Bayberry. [1913 Webster]

Bayberry \Bay"ber*ry\, n. (Bot.) (a) The fruit of the bay tree or Laurus nobilis. (b) A tree of the West Indies related to the myrtle (Pimenta acris). (c) The fruit of Myrica cerifera (wax myrtle); the shrub itself; -- called also candleberry tree. [1913 Webster]

Bayberry tallow, a fragrant green wax obtained from the bayberry or wax myrtle; -- called also myrtle wax. [1913 Webster]

Candleberry tree \Can"dle*ber`ry tree\ (Bot.) A shrub (the Myrica cerifera, or wax-bearing myrtle), common in North America, the little nuts of which are covered with a greenish white wax, which was formerly, used for hardening candles; -- also called bayberry tree, bayberry, or candleberry. [1913 Webster]