Checklist » Myricaceae » Morella californica
Last updated 5/31/2020 by David Giblin.
Morella californica (Cham.) Wilbur[HC2, JPM2]
Pacific bayberry, Pacific wax-myrtle

Publication: Sida 16(1): 102. 1994.

Origin: Native

selected vouchers: WTU

Notes: FNA3: "On any one branchlet, staminate inflorescences are borne proximal to bisexual inflorescences; the most distal inflorescences may be completely pistillate.

It is quite common for two or three pistillate or bisexual flowers to occur per bract and for the ovaries to fuse to form a syncarp. In the fruiting condition this can usually be detected by counting the number of style branches (two per ovary, therefore four for a syncarp derived from two fused ovaries). Many specimens apparently do not produce any wax, in which case the fruits appear purple-black rather than white."

References: (none)

Synonyms & Misapplied Names:
Gale californica (Cham.) Greene
Myrica californica Cham.[FNA3, HC]