MYRICACEAE. 13 
Myrica. Bayberry. Wax Myrtle. 
(Family Myricaceae). 
Shrubs or very small trees, aro- 
matic: deciduous in the North. 
Twigs rounded or angular, slen- 
der, resinous-dotted when young: 
pith small, somewhat angled, con- 
tinuous, green. Buds small, soli- 
tary, sessile, subglobose or ovoid, 
with 2 or about 4 exposed scales, 
the end-bud absent. Leaf-sears al- 
ternate, half-elliptical or some- 
what 3-sided, more or less raised: 
bundle-traces 3: stipule-scars small 
if present. 
The sweetfern is considered 
sometimes to represent a distinct 
genus (Comptonia), of which it 
is the only representative. A 
readable account of its ancestry 
is given by Berry in volume 40 of 
The American Naturalist. The 
sweet-gale also has been held. 
apart under the generic name Gale. 
i. 
2. 
3. 
With stipule-scars. (Sweetfern). M. asplenifolia. 
Without stipule-scars. 2. 
Buds conical-ovoid or oblong, no end bud. (2). M. Gale. 
Buds subglobose, obtuse: fruit encrusted with wax. 3. 
Buds hairy: fruit moderate (4 mm.). M. californica. 
Buds glabrate. 4._ 
. Buds small (about 1 mm.), glandular-dotted: lenticels very 
conspicuous: fruit small (3 mm.). (3). M. cerifera. 
Buds larger (1.5 mm.), soon glandless: fruit larger. 5. 
. Fruit moderate (4 mm.): leaves veiny. (4). M. carolinensis. 
Fruit larger (6X8 mm.): leaves smooth, M. inodora. 
