Myrica

For the flat panel TVs, see Fujitsu Siemens Computers. For the historical city in Asia Minor, see Myrika. For the mythological figure, see Myrice (mythology).

Myrica
Female Myrica gale plant
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Myricaceae
Genus: Myrica
L.[1]
Type species
Myrica gale
Species

See text

Synonyms[2]
  • Angeia Tidestr.
  • Cerophora Raf.
  • Cerothamnus Tidestr.
  • Faya Webb & Berthel.
  • Fayana Raf.
  • Gale Duhamel
  • Morella Lour.
  • Pimecaria Raf.

Myrica /mɪˈraɪkə/[3] is a genus of about 35–50 species of small trees and shrubs in the family Myricaceae, order Fagales. The genus has a wide distribution, including Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, and missing only from Antarctica and Oceania. Some botanists split the genus into two genera on the basis of the catkin and fruit structure, restricting Myrica to a few species, and treating the others in Morella.[4]

Common names include bayberry, bay-rum tree, candleberry, sweet gale, and wax-myrtle. The generic name was derived from the Greek word μυρίκη (myrike), meaning "fragrance".[5][6]

  1. ^ "Genus: Myrica L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2006-12-14. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
  2. ^ "Myrica L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  3. ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
  4. ^ Valérie Huguet, Manolo Gouy, Philippe Normand, Jeff F. Zimpfer, and Maria P. Fernandez. 2005. "Molecular phylogeny of Myricaceae: a reexamination of host-symbiont specificity". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 34(3):557–568. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.11.018
  5. ^ Gledhill, D. (2008). The Names of Plants (4 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 267. ISBN 978-0-521-86645-3.
  6. ^ Μυρίκη was also the Greek name for Tamarix species.