Morella cerifera (L.) Small, Myricaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 20 (Go to the risk assessment).

Other Latin names:  Myrica cerifera L.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: bayberry, candleberry, southern bayberry, southern wax-myrtle, wax myrtle, waxberry

French: arbre à cire

Spanish: arrayán, cera vegetal

Habit:  tree

Description:  "To 35 ft.; leaves evergreen, to 3 in. long, acute, entire to sharply serrate above middle; flowers grayish-white, less than 1/8 in. in diameter" (Bailey & Bailey, 1976; p. 749).

"Monoecious, large, evergreen shrub or small tree, clumping, irregular, rounded, densely foliated and medium-textured. Reaches a height and spread of 35 ft, but is usually seen in the 15-20 ft range. Growth rate is rapid. Leaves simple, alternate, oblanceolate, to 4 in long, often undulate. The thin, olive green leaves are often coarsely serrate along apical margins and dotted with tiny rusty glands on both sides. Aromatic. multiple crooked trunks are covered with smooth, grayish-white bark. Young stems light green to gray, pubescent. Suckers frequently from trunk bases and roots. Plants dioecious; flowers inconspicuous, small axillary catkins appear in March. Fruit grayish-blue, 0.25 in wide, in dense clusters along the twigs in fall. The fruit are heavily coated with wax." (Dehgan 1998).

Habitat/ecology:  Mesic forests in Hawai‘i. "Grows best in moist peaty soil" (Bailey & Bailey, 1976; p. 749). "Thickets, woods and swamps" (Fernald, 1970; p. 524).

Propagation:  Seed (bird-dispersed) and root suckers.

Native range:  United States, Mexico, West Indies, Central America.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2012) (p. 40) Voucher cited: R. L. Stemmermann 6936 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2012) (p. 40) Voucher cited: A. Lau & D. Frohlich 2010030902 (BISH) Adventive, perhaps naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Meidell, J. Scott/Oppenheimer, H. L./Bartlett, R. T. (1997) (p. 17) West Maui. Voucher cited: Meidell & Oppenheimer 127 (BISH). Subject of an eradication program.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 243)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Report (PDF format) from US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Haleakala Field Station, Hawaii "Plants of Hawaii".

Additional online information about Morella cerifera is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Morella cerifera as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Morella cerifera may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Bailey, L. H./Bailey, E. Z. 1976. Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada. Macmillan, New York. 1290 pp.

Dehgan, B. 1998. Landscape Plants for Subtropical Climates. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's manual of botany, eighth edition. American Book Co. p. 588.

Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex. 2012. New plant records for the Hawaiian Islands 2010-2011. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2011. Part II: Plants. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 113:27-54.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Meidell, J. Scott/Oppenheimer, H. L./Bartlett, R. T. 1997. New plant records from Pu‘u Kukui watershed and adjacent areas, Maui. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1996. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 49:17-18.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).