Myrica
Encyclopedia
Myrica is a genus
of about 35–50 species
of small tree
s and shrub
s 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 Australasia
. Some botanists split the genus into two genera on the basis of the catkin
and fruit
structure, restricting Myrica to a few species, and treating the others in Morella.
Common names include Bayberry, Bay-rum tree, Candleberry, Sweet Gale, and Wax-myrtle. The generic name was derived from the Greek
word μυρικη (myrike), meaning "fragrance."
The species vary from 1 m shrubs up to 20 m trees; some are deciduous
, but the majority of species are evergreen
. The root
s have nitrogen-fixing
bacteria which enable the plants to grow on soils that are very poor in nitrogen
content. The leaves
are spirally arranged, simple, 2–12 cm long, oblanceolate with a tapered base and broader tip, and a crinkled or finely toothed margin. The flower
s are catkin
s, with male and female catkins usually on separate plants (dioecious
). The fruit
is a small drupe
, usually with a wax
coating.
The type species, Myrica gale, is holarctic
in distribution, growing in acid
ic peat
bog
s throughout the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere; it is a deciduous shrub growing to 1 m tall. The remaining species all have relatively small ranges, and are mostly warm-temperate.
Myrica faya (Morella faya), native to the volcanic
islands of Madeira
and the Canary Islands
, has become an invasive species
on the Hawaii
an volcanoes 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
s, but a few species have adapted to be able to eat it, notably the Yellow-rumped Warbler
in North America. As the wax is very energy-rich, this enables the Yellow-rumped Warbler to winter further north in cooler climates than any other American warbler if bayberries are present. The seed
s are then dispersed in the birds' droppings. Myrica species are used as food plants by the larva
e of some Lepidoptera
species including Brown-tail
, Emperor Moth, and Winter Moth
as well as the bucculatricid
leaf-miners Bucculatrix cidarella, Bucculatrix myricae (feeds exclusively on Myrica gale) and Bucculatrix paroptila and the Coleophora
case-bearers C. comptoniella, C. pruniella, and C. viminetella.
, has been used traditionally to make candle
s. It was used for that purpose by the eponymous family in the novel The Swiss Family Robinson
. The foliage of Myrica gale is a traditional insect repellent
, used by campers
to keep biting insects out of tent
s. Several species are also grown as ornamental plants in garden
s. The fruit of Myrica rubra
is an economically important crop in China
. Myrica is used to spice beer
and snaps
in Denmark
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of about 35–50 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of small tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Myricaceae
Myricaceae
The Myricaceae is a small family of dicotyledonous shrubs and small trees in the order Fagales. There are three genera in the family, although some botanists separate many species from Myrica into a fourth genus Morella...
, order
Taxonomic rank
In biological classification, rank is the level in a taxonomic hierarchy. Examples of taxonomic ranks are species, genus, family, and class. Each rank subsumes under it a number of less general categories...
Fagales
Fagales
The Fagales are an order of flowering plants, including some of the best known trees. The order name is derived from genus Fagus, Beeches. They belong among the rosid group of dicotyledons...
. The genus has a wide distribution
Species distribution
Species distribution is the manner in which a biological taxon is spatially arranged. Species distribution is not to be confused with dispersal, which is the movement of individuals away from their area of origin or from centers of high population density. A similar concept is the species range. A...
, including Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, and missing only from Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
. Some botanists split the genus into two genera on the basis of the catkin
Catkin
A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated but sometimes insect pollinated . They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged closely along a central stem which is often drooping...
and fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
structure, restricting Myrica to a few species, and treating the others in Morella.
Common names include Bayberry, Bay-rum tree, Candleberry, Sweet Gale, and Wax-myrtle. The generic name was derived from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word μυρικη (myrike), meaning "fragrance."
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
, but the majority of species are evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
. The root
Root
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
s have nitrogen-fixing
Nitrogen fixation
Nitrogen fixation is the natural process, either biological or abiotic, by which nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into ammonia . This process is essential for life because fixed nitrogen is required to biosynthesize the basic building blocks of life, e.g., nucleotides for DNA and RNA and...
bacteria which enable the plants to grow on soils that are very poor in nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
content. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are spirally arranged, simple, 2–12 cm long, oblanceolate with a tapered base and broader tip, and a crinkled or finely toothed margin. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are catkin
Catkin
A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated but sometimes insect pollinated . They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged closely along a central stem which is often drooping...
s, with male and female catkins usually on separate plants (dioecious
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
). The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a small drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
, usually with a wax
Wax
thumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...
coating.
The type species, Myrica gale, is holarctic
Holarctic
The Holarctic ecozone refers to the habitats found throughout the northern continents of the world as a whole. This region is divided into the Palearctic, consisting of Northern Africa and all of Eurasia, with the exception of Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and the Nearctic,...
in distribution, growing in acid
Acid
An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...
ic peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
s throughout the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere; it is a deciduous shrub growing to 1 m tall. The remaining species all have relatively small ranges, and are mostly warm-temperate.
Myrica faya (Morella faya), native to the volcanic
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
islands of Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
and the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, has become an invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
on the Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an volcanoes where it was introduced in the 19th century; its ability to fix nitrogen
Nitrogen fixation
Nitrogen fixation is the natural process, either biological or abiotic, by which nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into ammonia . This process is essential for life because fixed nitrogen is required to biosynthesize the basic building blocks of life, e.g., nucleotides for DNA and RNA and...
makes it very well adapted to growing on low-nitrogen volcanic soils.
The wax coating on the fruit is indigestible for most bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, but a few species have adapted to be able to eat it, notably the Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Four closely related North American bird forms—the eastern Myrtle Warbler , its western counterpart, Audubon's Warbler , the northwest Mexican Black-fronted Warbler , and the Guatemalan Goldman's Warbler —are periodically lumped as the Yellow-rumped Warbler .-Classification:Since...
in North America. As the wax is very energy-rich, this enables the Yellow-rumped Warbler to winter further north in cooler climates than any other American warbler if bayberries are present. The seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s are then dispersed in the birds' droppings. Myrica species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including Brown-tail
Brown-tail
The brown-tail is a moth of the family Lymantriidae. It is distributed throughout Europe.The wings of this species are pure white, as is the body, apart from a tuft of brown hairs at the end of the abdomen. The brown coloration extends along most of the back of the abdomen in the male...
, Emperor Moth, and Winter Moth
Winter Moth
The Winter Moth is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is an abundant species of Europe and the Near East and one of very few Lepidoptera of temperate regions in which the adults are active in the depth of winter....
as well as the bucculatricid
Bucculatricidae
Bucculatricidae or is a family of moths. This small family has representatives in all parts of the world. Some authors place the group as a subfamily of the family Lyonetiidae....
leaf-miners Bucculatrix cidarella, Bucculatrix myricae (feeds exclusively on Myrica gale) and Bucculatrix paroptila and the Coleophora
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...
case-bearers C. comptoniella, C. pruniella, and C. viminetella.
Uses
The wax coating on the fruit of several species, known as Bayberry waxBayberry wax
Bayberry wax is an aromatic green vegetable wax. It is removed from the surface of the fruit of the bayberry shrub Myrica faya by boiling the fruits in water and skimming the wax from the surface of the water...
, has been used traditionally to make candle
Candle
A candle is a solid block or cylinder of wax with an embedded wick, which is lit to provide light, and sometimes heat.Today, most candles are made from paraffin. Candles can also be made from beeswax, soy, other plant waxes, and tallow...
s. It was used for that purpose by the eponymous family in the novel The Swiss Family Robinson
The Swiss Family Robinson
-History:Written by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss and edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss, the novel was intended to teach his four sons about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance...
. The foliage of Myrica gale is a traditional insect repellent
Insect repellent
An insect repellent is a substance applied to skin, clothing, or other surfaces which discourages insects from landing or climbing on that surface. There are also insect repellent products available based on sound production, particularly ultrasound...
, used by campers
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
to keep biting insects out of tent
Tent
A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
s. Several species are also grown as ornamental plants in garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s. The fruit of Myrica rubra
Myrica rubra
Myrica rubra, also called yangmei , yamamomo , Chinese Bayberry, Japanese Bayberry, Red Bayberry,Yumberry, or Chinese strawberry tree is a subtropical tree grown for its sweet, crimson to dark purple-red, edible fruit.- Description :It is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree...
is an economically important crop in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Myrica is used to spice beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
and snaps
Snaps
Snaps is a Danish and Swedish word for a small shot of a strong alcoholic beverage taken during the course of a meal. A ritual that is associated with drinking snaps is a tradition in Scandinavia, especially in Denmark and Sweden, where it is very common to drink snaps at holidays such as...
in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
Selected species
|
Myrica pensylvanica Myrica pensylvanica, the Northern Bayberry, is a species of Myrica native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland west to Ontario and Ohio, and south to North Carolina.Myrica pensylvanica is a deciduous shrub growing to 4.5 m tall... Mirb. – Northern Bayberry Myrica rubra Myrica rubra, also called yangmei , yamamomo , Chinese Bayberry, Japanese Bayberry, Red Bayberry,Yumberry, or Chinese strawberry tree is a subtropical tree grown for its sweet, crimson to dark purple-red, edible fruit.- Description :It is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree... Siebold & Zucc. – Chinese Bayberry, commercially called "Yumberry" |
Formerly placed here
- Comptonia peregrinaComptoniaComptonia is a monotypic genus in the family Myricaceae, order Fagales. It is native to eastern North America, from southern Quebec south to the extreme north of Georgia, and west to Minnesota. The common name is Sweetfern or Sweet-fern, a confusing name as it is not a fern.It is a deciduous...
(L.) J.M.Coult. (as M. aspleniifolia L.) - Nageia nagiNageia nagiNageia nagi is a species of conifer in the Podocarpaceae family.It is found in China, Japan, and Taiwan.It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* Conifer Specialist Group 1998. . Downloaded on 10 July 2007....
(Thunb.) Kuntze (as M. nagi Thunb.) - Sapium luzonicumSapium luzonicumSapium luzonicum is a species of plant in the Euphorbiaceae family. It is endemic to the Philippines.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
(S.Vidal) Merr. (as M. luzonica S.Vidal)
External links
- Flora Europaea: Myrica
- Flora of China: Myrica
- Flora of North America: Myrica
- Trees and shrubs of Ecuador: Myrica
- Flora of Azores: Myrica
- Monograph on the medicinal and clinical uses of Myrica cerifera: http://www.toddcaldecott.com/index.php/herbs/learning-herbs/393-bayberry