Scientific Name Myrica pensylvanica Common Name Northern bayberry

Maritime Forest Consumer Hort Index - Fact Sheets

Characteristics Family Myricaceae--The Waxmyrtle Family Origin Native NC Plant Description Evergreen tree Coastal Ecology Myrica pensylvanica is the Northern bayberry. The Northern bayberry is a small to large shrub seen from Dare County northward to the New England states. Northern bayberry is a deciduous plant, immediately distinguishing it in winter from Southern waxmyrtle, an evergreen. The fruits of Northern bayberry are about two times the diameter of those of Southern waxmyrtle. The fruits of both species were boiled by the Colonists to extract wax and make bayberry scented candles.

Trees of the Maritime Forest, Alice B. Russell Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University.
All Pictures ©1997Alice B. Russell.