Bayberry

(Myrica cerifera)

Bayberry is fast growing and aromatic. Flowers appear in the spring and small, waxy fruits follow. Many different birds eat the berries. Colonists gathered the berries to melt down the waxy coating to produce fragrant, slow burning candles. Colonists also used the plant as a treatment for stomach aches, ulcers, dry skin, the common cold and for making plaster casts. Native Americans used this plant as an insect repellent.

Information Provided by the Friends of Barefoot Beach Preserve
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