Scientific Name: Myrica Cerifera
Origin: Asia/United States
Common Names : American bayberry, American vegetable tallow tree, Bayberry wax tree,
Candleberry, Candleberry myrtle, Katphala (Sanskrit), Myrtle, Wax Myrtle, Wax berry.
Parts used: Root Bark, Leaves, Flowers, Bark
Active Properties: Stimulant, Astringent, Emetic, Antispasmodic, Alterative, Expectorant, Diaphoretic, Tonic. Leaves - Aromatic, stimulant
Biochemical Information: Volatile oil, Starch, Lignin, Albumen, Gum, Tannic and Gallic acids, Acrid and Astringent resins, an acid resembling saponin. Also contains Myricitrin an active antibiotic.
Background: Gather root bark in the fall. Cleanse it thoroughly and while fresh separate the bark with a hammer. Dry the root completely and keep in a dry place when dry enough to pulverize do so and store in a dark glass or pottery sealed container.
Wax of the berries is used to make fragrant candles. To obtain the wax, boil the berries in water. The wax floats to the surface and can be removed when hardened.
Description: Coarse stiff, shrub or small slender tree to 3-8 feet. Bark is brownish-gray and smooth leaves narrow at the base. Young branchlets waxy. Leaves oblong to lance-shaped 1-4 inches long reduced at the tip of the branches often sparingly toothed dark green and shiny above paler and sometimes hairy beneath leathery evergreen with waxy globules. Flowers appear in early spring March and April before or with the new leaves. Fruits borne against the stems 1/8 inch across. The green berries are covered when mature with a pale blue lavender or grayish-white aromatic wax in microscopic rounded particles used in making candles which burn with a pleasing fragrance. Bayberry needs lime free soil.
Safety: Wax is irritating. Constituents of the wax are reportedly carcinogenic. Avoid in very hot temperatures. Avoid if hypertensive.
More Bulk Herbs and Spices Information:
Bethroot
Bilberry
Birch bark
Blackberry
Black Cohosh
Black Haw
Black Walnut Hull
For educational purposes only
This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.