Wax myrtles: Tough, durable and at one time, a source of light

Wax myrtle is the South’s version of northern bayberry, a shrub prized by European colonists for a wide range of domestic uses.

Also called southern bayberry, wax myrtle - Morella (Myrica) cerifer - belongs to a small family of flowering trees and shrubs with glandular, aromatic leaves. (Try crushing a wax myrtle leaf to release its pleasant fragrance.)

The species occurs throughout the Southeast in fields, woods, and coastal habitats, where it tolerates drought, sandy soil, and salt spray.

Wax myrtle is also a tough, durable landscape plant, used in the Lowcountry for fast-growing hedges, screens, and foundation plantings. Several cultivars have been developed.

Its dense growth provides shelter and nest sites for songbirds, and its lance-shaped, evergreen leaves are food for the caterpillars of the red-banded hairstreak, a common South Carolina butterfly.

Wax myrtle blooms in early spring, but the tiny flowers, borne in clusters and on separate male and female plants, often go unnoticed.

More conspicuous are its waxy, bluish fruits, which appear in late summer. These are food for many birds, such as vireos, warblers, Gray Catbirds, and various waterfowl.

Early colonists boiled the fruits of both northern and southern bayberry to extract their waxy skins for candle making. Bayberry candles burned longer, more brightly, and with less smoke than candles made from animal fat.

But making them was a tedious process, requiring a lot of bayberries. For example, 15 lbs of fruit might yield just 1 pound of wax.

For this reason, bayberry candles were burned mainly on holidays or other special occasions. Today, many “bayberry candles” are simply bayberry-scented, though it’s still possible to find authentic bayberry candles if you’re willing to search the internet and pay the price.

Wax myrtle also has a long history of medicinal and culinary use.

Early settlers drank a concoction of hot water mixed with bayberry wax to treat dysentery. Bark from the roots was dried and powdered, then administered to treat jaundice, diarrhea, colds, sore throats, influenza, dandruff, and a host of other ailments.

The aromatic leaves were used as flavoring, much like bay leaves, and to make an herbal tea to reduce fever. The leaves were also said to repel fleas, mosquitoes, and palmetto bugs.

Few of these attributes of wax myrtle have been subject to close study, however. At our house we’re content to appreciate this native shrub for the many wildlife benefits it provides.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Wax myrtles: Tough, durable and at one time, a source of light."