TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL	previous taxon | next taxon Jepson Interchange (more information)
	©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California Print edition is available from the University of California Press

	The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press
	See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition

MYRICACEAE

WAX MYRTLE FAMILY

James R. Shevock

Shrubs, trees, aromatic, evergreen or deciduous, generally monoecious or dioecious, generally with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in roots
Leaves simple, alternate, entire to pinnately lobed, resin-dotted; stipules generally 0
Inflorescence: spike, axillary, catkin-like; staminate and pistillate spikes separate
Flower generally unisexual, small; perianth 0
Staminate flower generally subtended by 2 bractlets
Pistillate flower subtended by 2–4 bractlets; ovary superior, chamber 1, ovule 1, style 1, stigmas 2, short
Fruit: generally drupe or nut, small, rough, waxy, sometimes winged or bur-like from fused bractlets
Genera in family: 3 genera, ± 50 species: generally temp, subtropical. Comptonia of e North America, Canacomyrica of New Caledonia each have 1 sp. Fr of some Myrica are boiled to produce fragrant wax.