Common Waxmyrtle

Morella cerifera

Found in Coastal dunes and beaches; pocosins and bay forests; salt and brackish marshes. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you

Strong

Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

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Height: 20–25 feet
Spread: 8–10 feet
Light: Dappled sunlight, Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture: Somewhat dry to moist

Space about 9 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

Morella cerifera — fruit photograph — (c) Eleanor Pate, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Woody perennial
Leaves: Deciduous, semi-evergreen or evergreen
Bloom: April
Fruiting season: August to October

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Recorded in 67 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 245 animals.

Roseate Spoonbill
Platalea ajaja
Birds. 8 shared habitats
Rusty Blackbird
Euphagus carolinus
Birds. 8 shared habitats
Short-eared Owl
Asio flammeus
Birds. 8 shared habitats
Swamp Sparrow
Melospiza georgiana
Birds. 8 shared habitats
Virginia Rail
Rallus limicola
Birds. 8 shared habitats
White-eyed Vireo
Vireo griseus
Birds. 8 shared habitats
Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
Birds. 8 shared habitats
Yellow Rail
Coturnicops noveboracensis
Birds. 8 shared habitats
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Coccyzus americanus
Birds. 8 shared habitats
Anhinga
Anhinga anhinga
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Carolina Wren
Thryothorus ludovicianus
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Caspian Tern
Hydroprogne caspia
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Eurasian Wigeon
Anas penelope
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Forster's Tern
Sterna forsteri
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Henslow's Sparrow
Ammodramus henslowii
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Least Tern
Sternula antillarum
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larus fuscus
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Little Gull
Hydrocoloeus minutus
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Long-billed Curlew
Numenius americanus
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Northern Waterthrush
Seiurus noveboracensis
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Red-headed Woodpecker
Melanerpes erythrocephalus
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Sandhill Crane
Grus canadensis
Birds. 7 shared habitats
Semipalmated Plover
Charadrius semipalmatus
Birds. 7 shared habitats

All wildlife of Florida

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

54CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Myrica

Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
Adoneta spinuloidesPurple-Crested Slug
Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
Caloptilia stigmatellaPoplar Caloptilia
Calycopis cecropsRed-Banded Hairstreak, Cecrops Hairstreak
Catocala consorsThe Consort
Catocala mulierculaThe Little Wife, Little Wife Underwing
Cecrita biundataWavy-Lined Heterocampa

Show all 54

Cenopis reticulatanaReticulated Fruitworm Moth
Cleora projectaProjecta Gray
Coelodasys apicalisPlain Schizura
Episimus tyriusMaple Tip Borer
Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
Eutrapela clematariaCurved-Tooth Geometer, Purplish Brown Looper
Hellinsia balanotesBaccharis Borer Plume Moth, Groundsel Plume Moth
Hypomecis buchholzariaX
Iridopsis defectariaBrown-Shaded Gray, Willow Looper
Kocakina fidelisIntractable Quaker, Green Fruitworm, Fourlined Green Fruitworm
Leptostales rubromarginariaDark-Ribboned Wave
Lycia ypsilonWoolly Gray
Megalopyge crispataBlack-Waved Flannel Moth, Crinkled Flannel Moth
Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
Nematocampa resistariaFilament Bearer, Horned Spanworm Moth
Nemoria bistriariaTwo-Striped Emerald, Red-Fringed Emerald
Nemoria mimosariaWhite-Fringed Emerald
Oedemasia concinnaRed-Humped Caterpillar, Red-Humped Appleworm
Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
Olethreutes permundanaRaspberry Leafroller
Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
Orthotaenia undulanaDusky Leafroller
Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
Pandemis limitataThree-Lined Leafroller Moth
Parasa chlorisSmaller Parasa, Green Slug Moth
Parasa indeterminaStinging Rose Caterpillar Moth, Rose Slug Caterpillar
Pero zalissariaCoastal Pero
Prochoerodes lineolaLarge Maple Spanworm Moth
Prolimacodes badiaSkiff Moth, Skiff Caterpillar
Protolampra brunneicollisBrown-Collared Dart
Sphinx kalmiaeFawn Sphinx, Laurel Sphinx
Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
Strepsicrates smithianaBayberry Leaftier
Tallula watsoniWatson's Tallula
Tetracis cachexiataWhite Slant-Line
Utetheisa ornatrixOrnate Moth, Pink Underwing, Rattlebox Moth, Bella Moth
Xanthotype urticariaFalse Crocus Geometer
Xestia dilucidaDull Reddish Dart, Reddish Heath Dart
Aroga argutiola
Cenopis karacana
Dichomeris bipunctellus
Olethreutes sericoranum
Stigmella myricafoliella

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

1BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Myrica

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

0Specialist beesPollen specialists

18BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Morella

Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
Catharus minimus/bicknelliGray-cheeked/Bicknell's Thrush
Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
Gallinula galeataCommon Gallinule
Hylocichla mustelinaWood Thrush
Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
Quiscalus majorBoat-tailed Grackle
Sphyrapicus ruberRed-breasted Sapsucker

Show all 18

Tachycineta bicolorTree Swallow
Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
Tyrannus tyrannusEastern Kingbird
Vireo gilvusWarbling Vireo
Vireo griseusWhite-eyed Vireo
Vireo olivaceusRed-eyed Vireo
Vireo philadelphicusPhiladelphia Vireo
Vireo solitariusBlue-headed Vireo

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Myricaceae
Hardiness: Zones 7a–11b
Soil pH: Acidic
Flower color: Yellow or green
Growth rate: Moderate
Growth habit: Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color: Green
Fruit begins: August
Fruit ends: October

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “April” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Yellow or green” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit begins · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Hardiness · “Zones 7a–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Height · “20–25 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
Leaves · “Deciduous, semi-evergreen or evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differs)
Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differs)
Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Spread · “8–10 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Also known as

Myrica cerifera; sweet gale; sweet-gale

Conservation status

Florida rank	S5
Global rank	G5
FL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Growing cautions

Suckers and forms colonies. Tends to sucker, sometimes forming large colonies. NC State Extension Plant Toolbox

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Common Waxmyrtle

At a glance

Natural habitats

Also found with this plant

Who uses this plant?

Plant details

Conservation status

Will it fit your yard?

Growing cautions

Sources

More Morella