BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Myrica cerifera | Southern Bayberry 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Southern bayberry is an erect, evergreen, small tree or shrub.  It is
native to low-elevation tropical, subtropical, and warm-temperate
regions of the Americas.  It grows to a maximum height of 40 feet (12
m), and a maximum d.b.h. of 12.5 inches (32 cm) at maturity [16,20].
Its flat leaves are toothed near the end and aromatic when crushed [3].
The diminutive flowers are unisexual, dioecious, and borne on catkinlike
axillary spikes.  Southern bayberry fruit are small, light green, dry
drupes which are covered with a conspicuous layer of pale blue wax,
giving them a "warty" appearance.  Each axillary spike bears 1 to 12
berries, which may persist over winter [10,20].  The seeds have no
endosperm [20].

Southern bayberry is clonal, with several stems growing from a common
root collar.  Underground runners extend the growth laterally [16].
Root nodules, associated with a symbiotic actinomycete, are capable of
atmospheric nitrogen fixation [9].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Undisturbed State:  Phanerophyte (microphanerophyte)
                       Phanerophyte (nanophanerophyte)
   Burned or Clipped State:  Cryptophyte (geophyte)


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Southern bayberry reproduces vegetatively by sprouting from its root
collar and underground runners [9].  Seedlings will establish on
disturbed sites [39], but the seeds require removal of their waxy
coating before they will germinate [20].  Birds, feeding on southern
bayberry fruit, probably accomplish wax removal and seed dispersal.


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Southern bayberry grows on a variety of sites but seems to be restricted
to climates with mild winters and long, hot, humid summers, and
elevations below 500 feet (150 m).  It grows in heavy soils [41] which
may be either wet or dry, in habitats that may be open or wooded [3].

Southern bayberry's ecological amplitude is demonstrated by reported
growth on fresh to slightly brackish banks and shores, flats and
interdune swales, pine and palmetto flatwoods and savannas, cypress-gum
ponds and swamps, wet and dry prairies, pitcher-plant bogs, upland mixed
woodlands, old fields, and fence and hedge rows [6,16,40].
Additionally, it grows on sites that are peculiar to the Florida
Everglades, particularly the drier portions [29] where it reaches its
highest density with low to medium flooding [41].  Such sites include
tree islands, cypress heads, and wet and dry hammocks [10,16,29,47].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Southern bayberry is an early successional species.  It is one of the
first woody plants to invade secondary dunes and beach meadows in the
Southeast [9], and naturally reseeds disturbed sites from adjacent
forests [31].  In the Everglades, increased human-caused disturbance,
such as draining and burning, has caused southern bayberry to become
more common as it invades sawgrass, marl prairie, and mixed hardwood
swamp communities.  Dense thickets form, known locally as "hell nests"
[18,29,47].



SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Southern bayberry flowers between February and June.  Its fruit ripens
from August to October [2].

Related categories for Species: Myrica cerifera | Southern Bayberry