What is "myrica cerifera"

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.

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.

Bog myrtle, the sweet gale.

Crape myrtle. See under Crape.

Myrtle warbler (Zo["o]l.), 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.

Bayberry \Bay"ber*ry\, n. (Bot.)

1. The fruit of the bay tree or Laurus nobilis.

2. A tree of the West Indies related to the myrtle ( Pimenta acris).

3. The fruit of Myrica cerifera (wax myrtle); the shrub itself; -- called also candleberry tree.

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

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.

Myrica cerifera is a small 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 sees uses both in the garden and for candlemaking, as well as a medicinal plant.