Morella californica

Wax myrtle, Wax Myrtle

Family: Myricaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Wax myrtle is a California native shrub found in coastal bioregions including northern California Coast, western Klamath Ranges, North Coast Ranges, Central Coast, western San Francisco Bay, and southern California Coast in coastal dunes, scrub, closed-cone pine forests, and redwood forests at elevations up to 500 meters. Flowering from March to April, this plant produces small whitish or greenish flowers in delicate clusters. Growing 2 to 10 meters tall with an upright, multi-stemmed form, it develops a dense, rounded growth habit with narrow lance-elliptic leaves that have sharply pointed tips. Its leaves are generally narrow and elongated, appearing bright green and somewhat glossy, with a distinctive sharp point at the end. The plant produces small fruits approximately 4 to 6.5 millimeters in diameter, clustered in small groups on its pistillate inflorescences.

Habitat: Coastal dunes and scrub, closed-cone pine, redwood forest

Bloom period: Mar-Apr

Elevation: < 150 m near coast, < 500+ m inland

Bioregions: NCo, w KR, NCoRO, CCo, w SnFrB, SCo

California counties: Sonoma, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Humboldt, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Del Norte, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ventura, Alameda, San Benito, Merced

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.