Myrtle

Definition of Myrtle

Myr´tle Pronunciation: mẽr´t'l

n.

1.

(Bot.) A species of the genus Myrtus, especially Myrtus communis. The common myrtle has a shrubby, upright stem, eight or ten feet high. Its branches form a close, full head, thickly covered with ovate or lanceolate evergreen leaves. It has solitary axillary white or rosy flowers, followed by black several-seeded berries. The ancients considered it sacred to Venus. The flowers, leaves, and berries are used variously in perfumery and as a condiment, and the beautifully mottled wood is used in turning.

Bog myrtle
the sweet gale.

Crape myrtle
See under Crape.

Myrtle warbler
(Zool.) a North American wood warbler (Dendroica coronata); - called also myrtle bird, yellow-rumped warbler, and yellow-crowned warbler.

Myrtle wax
(Bot.) See Bayberry tallow, under Bayberry.

Sand myrtle
a low, branching evergreen shrub (Leiophyllum buxifolium), growing in New Jersey and southward.

Wax myrtle
Myrica cerifera). See Bayberry.

Related Words

angiospermous tree, common myrtle, flowering tree, Myrtus communis

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