• Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Morella caroliniensis

swamp candleberry, evergreen bayberry

Nomenclature

Common Name:

swamp candleberry, evergreen bayberry

Synonym(s):

Myrica heterophylla, Myrica caroliniensis

Genus species:

Morella caroliniensis

Family:

Myrtaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

8-20 (12) ft tall by 4-15 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

NA

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

deciduous

Noted For:

Aroma/Showy Fruitsagrance, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Screen or hedge plant. Deciduous to semi-evergreen.

Considerations:

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Availability:

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Propagation:

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Light:

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Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Usually moist, occasional inundation -to- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Organic

Soil pH:

Acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

Ecology

Wildlife:

Birds

It is a host plant for the Red-banded Hairstreak butterfly  ( NC State Extension Service )

Fuits are eaten by birds, especially yellow-rumped warblers (which are very efficient at digesting the waxy fruits), in the fall and winter ( NC State Extension Service )

Native Habitats:

Wet sites. Bogs, swamps, flatwoods depressions, cutthroat seeps.

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

The waxy coating on fruit can be used to make candles, similar to its northern cousin, the bayberry (M.pensylvanica).
Leaves can be used as a substitute for bay leaf for cooking soups and stews.

General Comments:

Foliage fragrant when crushed.



Bayberry is an actinorhizal plant: its roots feature nitrogen fixing nodules formed in symbiosis with the nitrogen fixing actinobacteria Frankia. Thus it is tolerant of nitrogen-poor, acidic soils such as wetlands and dunes.(Widipedia).



The range is disjunct within Florida.