Morella caroliniensis
Swamp Candleberry, Evergreen Bayberry
Myrtaceae
Also known as Myrica heterophylla, Myrica caroliniensis
Plant Specifics
| Form: | Shrub | |
| Size: | 8-20 (12) ft tall by 4-15 ft wide | |
| Life Span: | Long-lived perennial | |
| Flower Color: | NA | |
| Fruit Color: | Brown | |
| Phenology: | Deciduous | |
| Noted for: | Aroma, Fragrance, Interesting foliage |
Landscaping
| Recommended Uses: | Screen or hedge plant. Deciduous to semi-evergreen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Considerations: | Clonal: it usually sends up sprouts from its roots to form thickets. The wood is somewhat brittle, but it will grow back if cut to the ground. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Propagation: | Seed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Availability: | Native nurseries, Seed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light: | Full Sun, Part Shade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: |
always floodedextremely dry |
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| (Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Not wet but not extremely dry) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: | Usually moist, occasional inundation ----- to ----- Not wet but not extremely dry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Water Flooding Tolerance: | Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance: | Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil or other substrate: | Humus (organic, upland), Organic material (muck), Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil pH: | Acidic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ecology
| Wildlife: |
Fuits are eaten by birds, especially yellow-rumped warblers (which are very efficient at digesting the waxy fruits), in the fall and winter (NC State Extension Service) | |
| Insects: | It is a host plant for the Red-banded Hairstreak butterfly (NC State Extension Service) | |
| Native Habitats: | Wet sites. Bogs, swamps, flatwoods depressions, cutthroat seeps. |
Distribution and Planting Zones
Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
8A 8B 9A 9B
USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures
Comments
| Ethnobotany: | The waxy coating on fruit can be used to make candles, similar to its northern cousin, the bayberry (M.pensylvanica). Leaves can be used as a substitute for bay leaf for cooking soups and stews. | |
| General Comments: | Foliage fragrant when crushed. Bayberry is an actinorhizal plant: its roots feature nitrogen fixing nodules formed in symbiosis with the nitrogen fixing actinobacteria Frankia. Thus it is tolerant of nitrogen-poor, acidic soils such as wetlands and dunes.(Widipedia). The range is disjunct within Florida. |