DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 Myr·tle n.  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.
 Note: ☞ The name is also popularly but wrongly applied in America to two creeping plants, the blue-flowered periwinkle and the yellow-flowered moneywort.  In the West Indies several myrtaceous shrubs are called myrtle.
 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.
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 Bay·ber·ry n. Bot. (a) The fruit of the bay tree or Laurus nobilis. (b) A tree of the West Indies related to the myrtle (Pimenta acris). (c) The fruit of Myrica cerifera (wax myrtle); the shrub itself; -- called also candleberry tree.
 Bayberry tallow, a fragrant green wax obtained from the bayberry or wax myrtle; -- called also myrtle wax.
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