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

Trees and shrubs that bear fruit persisting into winter, such as hollies, many viburnums, hawthorns, staghorn sumac, and wax myrtle, provide natural food sources for birds. —Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Dec. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

1806, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for wax myrtle

• fertile
• hurtle
• kirtle
• turtle
• infertile

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