MYRlCACEiE. 583 



Order 98.— MYRlCACEiE— Lindley. 



Flowers monoecious or dioecious ; both kinds achlamydeous and amentaceous. Sterile 

 flowers : stamens 2 — 8 in the axil of a scale-like bract, anthers 2 — 4-celled, with a longi- 

 tudinal dehiscence. Fertile: ovary 1-celled and 1-ovuled, surrounded by several hypogy- 

 nous scales, in the axil of a bract ; stigmas 2, subulate or dilated and petaloid. Fruit 

 dry and drupaceous, often covered with a waxy secretion. Seed solitary, erect, exalbu- 

 minous. Radicle short, superior. 



Small trees or shrubs, with alternate, simple leaves, with or without sti- 

 pules. They, as well as the branches, are covered with resinous glands or 

 dots. The species are found in both Americas, Cape of Good Hope, and 

 India. One species is also a native of Europe. They are all aromatic, and 

 are generally possessed of astringent and tonic properties. 



Myrica. — Linn. 



Sterile aments ovate-oblong ; bracts loosely imbricated. Calyx of 1 — 2 subulate scales. 

 Stamens 4, with short, capillary, erect filaments. Anthers vertical, large, with 2 divided 

 lobes. Fertile aments like the sterile, but more compact. Sepals 2, ovate, acute, scale- 

 like. Ovary ovate, flattish, superior. Stigmas 2, filiform, spreading, longer than the 

 calyx. Fruit baccate, 1-celled, 1-seeded. Seed erect. 



This genus consists of aromatic shrubs and small trees, having alternate, 

 mostly entire leaves, covered with resinous dots. They are natives of North 

 and South America, Cape of Good Hope, and Europe. In some of them the 

 fruit is covered with a wax-like, aromatic coating. 



M. cerifera, Linn. — Leaves cuneate-lanceolate, with a few acute serratures near the 

 top. Sterile aments loose. Bracts acute. Fruit spherical. 



Linn., Sp. PL 1453 ; Torrey, Comp. 372 ; Bigelow, Med. Bot. iii. t. 43 ; 

 Marshall, Arbust. 94 ; Lindley, Flor. Med. 305. 



Common Names. — Wax myrtle ; Wax-berry ; Bayberry, &c. 



This species is found in damp places in many parts of the United States ; 

 it is very abundant in New Jersey. The hard berries are studded over with 

 small, black granulations, and covered by a white, mealy crust, consisting of 

 a kind of wax. This can be separated, by placing the berries in boiling 

 water, when it will melt and collect on the surface of the fluid, and, on be- 

 coming cool, congeal into a concrete substance, of a pale-green colour, agree- 

 able odour, more brittle than wax. This is employed in some parts of the 

 country for candles, and also forms the basis of a fine soap. It appears to 

 have astringent and slightly narcotic properties, and was successfully em- 

 ployed by Dr. Wm. Fahnestock in an epidemic of typhoid dysentery. He 

 gave it in doses of one or two drachms, and is of opinion that its active prin- 

 ciple is the green colouring matter (Am. Jour. Med. Sci. ii. 313). Rafi- 

 nesque states that a tincture of the berries with Heracleum is beneficial in 

 flatulent colic. 



The bark of the root is acrid and stimulant, and in doses of a drachm 

 causes a sensation of heat in the stomach, followed by vomiting, and some- 

 times diuresis. When chewed, it acts as a sialagogue, and has proved useful 

 in toothache. The powder is an active errhine. The leaves have some 

 celebrity in domestic practice as antispasmodic, antiscorbutic, and astringent. 

 The other native species, M. pennsylvanica, M. carolinensis, and M. gale, 

 probably are very similar in their properties. The last-named species is 



