PromotedSpecies introCountry intro
Northern Bayberry
Silver-blue, mature, waxy berries of a bayberry shrub! The berries grow directly on the stems during autumn and persist into the following growing season. The shrub often spreads by suckers to form colonies. These berries are prized in the northeastern US, but I hardly ever find them - especially the mature berries. So, this was an exciting find!
The foliage and berries release the bayberry scent when rubbed or crushed. Wax from the berries is used to make bayberry candles, which are very clean burning. The process is a bit tedious, but worth the effort.
''Myrica pensylvanica'', the northern bayberry, is a species of ''Myrica'' native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland west to Ontario and Ohio, and south to North Carolina. It is also classified as ''Morella pensylvanica''.
''Myrica pensylvanica'' is a deciduous shrub growing to 4.5 m tall. The leaves are 2.5–7 cm long and 1.5-2.7 cm broad, broadest near the leaf apex, serrate, and sticky with a spicy scent when crushed. The flowers are borne in catkins 3–18 mm long, in.. more
