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wax myrtle
noun
: any of a genus (Myrica of the family Myricaceae, the wax-myrtle family) of trees or shrubs with aromatic foliage
especially
: a shrub or small tree (M. cerifera) of the eastern U.S. having small hard berries with a thick coating of bluish-white wax used for candles
Examples of wax myrtle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Hunt the Clear-Cuts Does like to bed down in cover such as broom sedge, young sweetgums and wax myrtle, which start growing within a year or two after an area has been cleared of timber.
67.
—Outdoor Life, 19 Nov. 2019
The site is very private and being in the forest, there is a lot of screening from the native understory plants—huckleberry, wild rhododendrons, wax myrtle, and sword ferns.
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 30 Aug. 2023
Armed with hand trowels, soil and pots, the group of Carroll County Master Gardeners and friends made quick work of removing 38 native tree saplings, including wax myrtle, persimmon and Arizona cypress, from bags before loosening the dirt around their roots and planting them in pots.
—Katie V. Jones, Baltimore Sun, 21 Apr. 2022
Trees and shrubs that bear fruit that persists into winter, including hollies, many viburnums, hawthorns, staghorn sumac, and wax myrtle, provide natural food sources for birds.
—Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Nov. 2021
For fruits, plant beautyberry, pyracantha, Eastern red cedar, viburnum, hawthorn, sumac, palm, crabapple, serviceberry, dogwood, bayberry, persimmon, black gum, holly, and wax myrtle.
—Steve Bender, Southern Living, 17 Mar. 2021
Some good choices are vine maple, currant, ocean spray and California wax myrtle.
—oregonlive, 8 Mar. 2021
Schroeder and Graham placed the tallest stems first — the eupatorium — then added wax myrtle greenery as filler, and finally embellished the arrangement with long, pointy flax leaves.
—Missy Wilkinson, NOLA.com, 13 Nov. 2020
Some seem worth planting just for the poetry of their names: Chickasaw plum, chokecherry, wax myrtle, devil’s beggar’s-tick, false indigo, hairy bush clover, cypress panicgrass.
—Matthew Cicanese and Erika Reiter, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Apr. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wax myrtle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1806, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near wax myrtle
Cite this Entry
“Wax myrtle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wax%20myrtle. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
Kids Definition
wax myrtle
noun
: any of several trees or shrubs with fragrant leaves
especially
: an evergreen shrub or small tree of the eastern U.S. that produces small hard berries with a thick coating of white wax used for candles compare bayberry sense 1
More from Merriam-Webster on wax myrtle
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about wax myrtle
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