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Myrica cerifera L.
Wax myrtle, Southern Bayberry

Myrica cerifera
Copyright by: Chuck McCartney

Family: Myricaceae

Group: Dicot

Substrate: Terrestrial

Habit: Shrub

Perennation: Perennial

Native Range: Bermuda, the eastern and southeastern United States, the West Indies, Mexico and Central America.

Map of select IRC data for peninsular Florida

IRC SOUTH FLORIDA Status: Secure

SOUTH FLORIDA Occurrence: Present

SOUTH FLORIDA Native Status: Native

SOUTH FLORIDA Cultivated Status: Cultivated

Comments: Visit our Natives For Your Neighborhood website for more information and images. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the Exploring Florida website.

Synonyms: Cerothamnus ceriferus.

Other data on Myrica cerifera available from :

Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants
Myrica cerifera has been found in the following 178 conservation areas :
Occurrence Native Status
A.D. Doug Barnes Park Present Native
Allapattah Flats Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Arch Creek Park Present Native
Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge Present Native
Babcock Ranch Preserve Present Native
Bahia Honda State Park Present Native
Barefoot Beach Preserve Present Native
Barley Barber Swamp Present Native
Big and Little George Hammocks Present Native
Big Cypress National Preserve Present Native
Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park Present Native
Bill Sadowski Park Present Native
Biscayne National Park Present Native, Cultivated Only
Black Creek Forest Present Native
Bocilla Preserve Present Native
Boystown Pineland Present Native
Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve Present Native
Caloosahatchee Regional Park Present Native
Camp Owaissa Bauer Present Native
Camp Owaissa Bauer Addition Present Native
Castellow Hammock parcel 28 Present Native
Castellow Hammock parcel 31 Present Native
Castellow Hammock Park Present Native
Cayo Costa State Park Present Native
Cedar Point Environmental Park Present Native
Collier-Seminole State Park Present Native
Coral Pines Park Present Native
Coral Reef Park Present Native
Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) Present Native
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Present Native
County Line Scrub, Miami-Dade County Present Native
Crandon Park Present Native
Cypress Knee Slough Preserve Present Native
Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammocks Botanical State Park Present Native
Danforth Park Present Native
Daskas Present Native
Deering Estate at Cutler Present Native
Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park Present Native
Delray Beach, Lake Ida parcel Present Native, Cultivated Only
Delray Oaks Natural Area Present Native
Dolphin Center and Dolphin Center Addition Present Native
Don Pedro Island State Park Present Native
Doris Davis Forman Wilderness Preserve Natural Area Present Native
Dupuis Reserve Present Native
Eachus Pineland Present Native
Estero Bay Preserve State Park Present Native
Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Everglades National Park Present Native
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park Present Native
Fern Forest Nature Center Present Native
Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Florida Atlantic University Ecological Site Present Native
Florida City Pineland Present Native
Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge Present Native
Fred C. Babcock-Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Frenchman's Forest Natural Area Present Native
Frog Pond/L-31 N Transition Lands Present Native
Fuchs Hammock Preserve Present Native
Gasparilla Island State Park Present Native
George N. Avery Pineland Present Native
Gold Coast Railroad Museum Present Native
Gomez Present Native
Goulds Pineland Present Native
Grassy Waters Preserve Present Native
Greynolds Park Present Native
Halpatiokee Regional Park Present Native
Harden Hammock Present Native
Hattie Bauer Hammock Present Native
Hawk's Hammock Park Present Native
Hickey Creek Mitigation Park Wildlife and Environmental Area Present Native
Highland Oaks Park Present Native
Highlands Scrub Natural Area Present Native
Hillsboro Pineland Natural Area Present Native
Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge Present Native
Hobe Sound Sandhill Present Native
Holiday Hammock Present Native
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park Present Native
Ingram Pineland Present Native
J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge Present Native
J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area Present Native
John D. MacArthur Beach State Park Present Native
Jonathan Dickinson State Park Present Native
Juno Dunes Natural Area Present Native
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area Present Native
Jupiter Ridge Natural Area Present Native
Kendall Indian Hammocks Park Present Native
Kiplinger Present Native
Koreshan State Historic Site Present Native
LaBelle Nature Park Present Native
Lake Okeechobee Marshes Present Native
Larry and Penny Thompson Park Present Native
Lemon Bay Aquatic Preserve Present Native
Little Torch Hammocks, Florida Keys Wildlife and Environmental Area Present Native
Long Key Natural Area & Nature Center Present Native
Loveland Hammock Present Native
Loxahatchee River Natural Area Present Native
Loxahatchee River-Lake Worth Creek Aquatic Preserve Present Native
Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area Present Native
Lucille Hammock Present Native
Luis Martinez United States Army Reserve Station, Richmond Pine Rocklands Present Native
Matanzas Pass Preserve Present Native
Matheson Hammock Park Present Native
Medlock Pineland Present Native
Meissner Hammock Present Native
Middle Torch Hammocks Anderson, Lipchak, 3112 Parcels, Florida Keys Wildlife and Environmental Area Present Native
Middle Torch Hammocks Parcel 3063, Florida Keys Wildlife and Environmental Area Present Native
Military Trail Natural Area Present Native
Milton E. Thompson Park Present Native
Miramar Pineland Present Native
Moreno Pine Rockland Present Native
National Key Deer Refuge Present Native
Navy Wells Pineland 23 Present Native
Navy Wells Pineland 39 Native
Navy Wells Pineland Preserve Present Native
Ned Glenn Nature Preserve Present Native
Nicodemus Slough Present Native
Nixon Smiley Pineland Addition Present Native
Nixon Smiley Pineland Preserve Present Native
Northrop Pineland Present Native
Ocean Ridge Hammock Park Present Native
Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest, Okaloacoochee Slough Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Okaloacoochee Slough Wildlife Management Area - FWC, Okaloacoochee Slough Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Okeeheelee Park Present Native
Oleta River State Park Present Native
Palm Drive Pineland Present Native
Pal-Mar Present Native
Pal-Mar Natural Area Present Native
Peck Lake Park Present Native
Picayune Strand State Forest Present Native
Pine Island Ridge Natural Area Present Native
Pine Jog Environmental Sciences Center Present Native
Pine Ridge Sanctuary Present Native
Pine Shore Preserve Present Native
Pond Apple Slough Natural Area Present Native
Prairie Pines Preserve Present Native
Quail Roost Pineland Present Native
Railhead Scrub Preserve Present Native
Ramrod Hammocks, Florida Keys Wildlife and Environmental Area Present Native
Red Reef Park, including Gumbo Limbo Nature Center Possibly Extirpated Possibly Extirpated
Rock Pit 39 Present Native
Rocky Point Hammock Present Native
Ron Ehmann Park Present Native
Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Present Native
Rosemary Scrub Natural Area Present Native
Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area Present Native
Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area Present Native
San Carlos Bay - Bunche Beach Preserve Present Native
Savannas Preserve State Park Present Native
School Board Property (Moody Drive and Turnpike) Native
Scrub Oak Park Present Native
Seabranch Preserve State Park Present Native
Seacrest Scrub Natural Area Present Native
Secret Woods Nature Center Present Native
Seminole Wayside Park Present Native
Serenoa Glade Preserve Present Native
Silver Palm Groves Present Native
Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve Present Native
SOCSOUTH Present Native
South Dade Wetlands Present Native
Southern Glades Present Native
Stump Pass Beach State Park Present Native
Sugarloaf Hammocks, Florida Keys Wildlife and Environmental Area Present Native
Sunny Palms Pineland Present Native
Tall Cypress Natural Area Present Native
Tamiami Pineland Complex Addition Present Native
Tilton Present Native
Torchwood Hammock Preserve Present Native
Tradewinds Park & Stables Present Native
Tree Island Park Present Native
Tropical Park Present Native
Warbler Wetland Natural Area Present Native
West Biscayne Pineland Present Native
Whispering Pines Hammock Preserve Present Native
Wild Turkey Strand Preserve Present Native
Woodmont Natural Area Present Native
Yamato Scrub Natural Area Present Native
Yellow Fever Creek Preserve Present Native
Zoo Miami Present Native

Myrica cerifera has been found in the following 11 counties :
Occurrence Native Status
Broward County Native
Charlotte County Native
Collier County Native
Glades County Native
Hendry County Native
Lee County Native
Martin County Native
Miami-Dade County Native
Monroe County (Keys) Native
Monroe County (Mainland) Native
Palm Beach County Native

Myrica cerifera has been found in the following 27 habitats :
Alluvial Forest
Basin Marsh
Bayhead
Coastal Grassland
Coastal Interdunal Swale
Coastal Strand
Depression Marsh
Disturbed Upland
Disturbed Wetland
Dome Swamp
Dry Prairie
Floodplain Marsh
Floodplain Swamp
Hydric Hammock
Maritime Hammock
Mesic Flatwoods
Mesic Hammock
Pine Rockland
Prairie Hammock
Rockland Hammock
Sandhill
Scrub
Scrubby Flatwoods
Strand Swamp
Wet Flatwoods
Wet Prairie
Xeric Hammock

All Images:

Myrica cerifera
Copyright by: Chuck McCartney
Myrica cerifera
Copyright by: Wes Jurgens
Myrica cerifera
Copyright by: Shirley Denton
Myrica cerifera
Copyright by: Shirley Denton
Myrica cerifera
Copyright by: Shirley Denton
Myrica cerifera
Copyright by: Don & Joyce Gann
Myrica cerifera
Copyright by: Jay Horn via iNaturalist