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Bayberry | | Name : | Bayberry | | Botanical : | Myrica cerifera | | Synonyms : | American bayberry
American vegetable tallow tree
American vegetable wax
Bayberry bush
Bayberry wax tree
Candleberry
Candleberry myrtle
Katphala (Sanskrit name)
Myrtle
Tallow shrub
Vegetable tallow
Wax berry
Wax Myrtle
Yang-mei
| | Family : | Myricaceae | | Parts Used : | Bark, leaves, flowers | | Habitat : | Sandy swamps, thickets, marshes and wet woodlands.Southern New Jersey to Florida, Texas to Arkansas.West Indies | | Description : | The only species of a useful family that is regarded as official, Myrica cerifera grows in thickets near swamps and marshes in the sand-belt near the Atlantic coast and on the shores of Lake Erie. Its height is from 3 to 8 feet, its leaves lanceolate, shining or resinous, dotted on both sides, its flowers unisexual without calyx or corolla, and its fruit small groups of globular berries, having numerous black grains crusted with greenish-white wax. These are persistent for two or three years. The leaves are very fragrant when rubbed.
The bark as found in commerce is in curved pieces from 1 to 7 inches long, covered with a thin, mottled layer, the cork beneath being smooth and red-brown. The fracture is reddish, granular, and slightly fibrous. The odour is aromatic, and the taste astringent, bitter, and very acrid. It should be separated from the fresh root by pounding, in late autumn, thoroughly dried, and when powdered, kept in darkened, well-closed vessels.
The wax was first introduced into medicinal use by Alexandre in 1722. It is removed from the berries by boiling them in water, on the top of which it floats. It melts at 47 to 49 C. (116.6 to 120.2 F.). It is harder and more brittle than beeswax. Candles made from it are aromatic, smokeless after snuffing, and very brittle. It makes a useful body for surgeon's soap plasters, and an aromatic and softening shaving lather. It has also been used for making sealing-wax. Four-fifths of this wax is soluble in hot alcohol, and boiling ether dissolves more than a quarter of its weight. Four pounds of berries yield about one pound of wax. | | Constituents : | There has been found in the bark of stem and root volatile oil, starch, lignin, gum, albumen, extractive, tannic and gallic acids, acrid and astringent resins, a red colouring substance, and an acid resembling saponin.
The wax (Myrtle Wax) consists of glycerides of stearic, palmitic and myristic acids, and a small quantity of oleaic acid. | | Uses : | Astringent and stimulant. In large doses emetic. It is useful in diarrhoea, jaundice, scrofula, etc. Externally, the powdered bark is used as a stimulant to indolent ulcers, though in poultices it should be combined with elm. The decoction is good as a gargle and injection in chronic inflammation of the throat, leucorrhoea, uterine haemorrhage, etc. It is an excellent wash for the gums.
The powder is strongly sternutatory and excites coughing. Water in which the wax has been 'tried,' when boiled to an extract, is regarded as a certain cure for dysentery, and the wax itself, being astringent and slightly narcotic, is valuable in severe dysentery and internal ulcerations. | | Dosage : | Tea:steep 1 tsp. in 1 pint of boiling water for 30 minutes.Use as a gargle for sore throat or for chills (drink 1/2 cup warm every hour until relief).
Extract:mix 10-20 drops in juice or water.
Mouthwash:gargle with liquid mixture made of extract or powder as needed.
Powder:mix 1/2 to 1 tsp. in 1 cup warm water.
Tincture:1/2 to 1 tsp. is taken in a small glass of water, 2 or 3 times daily.
Externally:rub liquid mixture on varicose veins or hemorrhoids as needed. | | Safety : | Wax is irritating.Constituents of the wax are reportedly carcinogenic.Avoid in very hot temperatures.Avoid if hypertensive. | | Myths : | One of the most versatile herbs, this native American plant is highly regarded by herbal practitioners. Nineteenth century physicians used to prescribe a hot tea made from the powdered bark of the bayberry at the first sign of a cold, cough, or flu.
Wax of the berries is used to make fragrant candles.To obtain the wax, boil the berries in water.The wax floats to the surface and can be removed when hardened.
Gather root bark in the fall.Cleanse it thoroughly and while fresh separate the bark with a hammer.Dry the root completely and keep in a dry place; when dry enough to pulverize do so and store in a dark glass or pottery sealed container. | | Sold : | Capsules:take 1 capsule 3 times daily as needed. |
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