wax myrtle

noun

: any of a genus (Myrica of the family Myricaceae, the wax-myrtle family) of trees or shrubs with aromatic foliage

especially : a shrub or small tree (M. cerifera) of the eastern U.S. having small hard berries with a thick coating of bluish-white wax used for candles

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Armed with hand trowels, soil and pots, the group of Carroll County Master Gardeners and friends made quick work of removing 38 native tree saplings, including wax myrtle, persimmon and Arizona cypress, from bags before loosening the dirt around their roots and planting them in pots. —Katie V. Jones, Baltimore Sun, 21 Apr. 2022

Trees and shrubs that bear fruit that persists into winter, including hollies, many viburnums, hawthorns, staghorn sumac, and wax myrtle, provide natural food sources for birds. —Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Nov. 2021

For fruits, plant beautyberry, pyracantha, Eastern red cedar, viburnum, hawthorn, sumac, palm, crabapple, serviceberry, dogwood, bayberry, persimmon, black gum, holly, and wax myrtle. —Steve Bender, Southern Living, 17 Mar. 2021

Some good choices are vine maple, currant, ocean spray and California wax myrtle. —oregonlive, 8 Mar. 2021

Schroeder and Graham placed the tallest stems first — the eupatorium — then added wax myrtle greenery as filler, and finally embellished the arrangement with long, pointy flax leaves. —Missy Wilkinson, NOLA.com, 13 Nov. 2020

Some seem worth planting just for the poetry of their names: Chickasaw plum, chokecherry, wax myrtle, devil’s beggar’s-tick, false indigo, hairy bush clover, cypress panicgrass. —Matthew Cicanese And Erika Reiter, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Apr. 2020

Ashes are highly alkaline, and that’s not a situation of which wax myrtles are fond. —Neil Sperry, ExpressNews.com, 23 Oct. 2019

An additional six loblolly pines of 18-feet in height at time of planting, and installed by hand, were requested to be planted along with no less than 21 more 15-gallon wax myrtles at least 6-feet tall. —Jeff Forward, Houston Chronicle, 23 June 2018

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Word History

First Known Use

1806, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

wax myrtle

noun

: any of several trees or shrubs with fragrant leaves

especially : an evergreen shrub or small tree of the eastern U.S. that produces small hard berries with a thick coating of white wax used for candles compare bayberry sense 1