N AT U R E C O N N E CT I O N
The Humble Wax Myrtle WORDS BY LYDIA THOMPSON withstand high winds, heavy rains, and prolonged dry spells. They are also salt-tolerant. Then, there are the leaves. Eamonn says these can also be used as an insect repellent. You can crush them in your hand and rub the oil on your skin. I tried it. It sort of worked, but it does have a pleasant clean scent. The leaves can also be dried and used as a flavoring for soups and stews. They’ve been used as a medicine, too. The Choctaw boiled the leaves to treat fevers and severe dysentery.
W
Beyond the beneficial leaves, there’s the blue-grey berries. In the fall, the tree swallows swarm these myrtles. It is quite a sight to watch thousands with all kinds of facts about the bush.
of swallows swoosh in and out of the
It is incredible what this humble plant
bushes along the causeway. It is not
can do.
only the swallows that like the berries but people do too. They can be add-
I like wax myrtles because painted
ed to the brewing process to bring a
buntings like them. Heck, all birds love
unique flavor to craft beers.
this native bush. It is a dense shrub that protects birds from hawks. Buntings can
What most people know about the
fly out to feed on grass seeds and dash
wax myrtle is the berries produce wax
for cover when threatened. Here is
for making bayberry candles. Our
what Mr. Leonard says about the bush:
Southern wax myrtle does not have a
“I think it is a great plant that should be
lot of wax, but here is another tip from
used in landscapes. It is especially a
Mr. Leonard: “You gather the berries
When it comes to native plants or any-
good alternative to the exotic privets,
when fully ripe in the fall. You simmer
thing about gardens, I am still learn-
or Ligustrum folks use for hedging or
the berries in water (not boiling them
ing. Eamonn Leonard is my source for
screening out a view. There are dwarf
because that would release essential
growing things. Coming to the coast
varieties if the standard form is too
oils), then capture and clean the wax
as a wildlife biologist with the Georgia
large for the home landscape. It does
collected. I have learned that to make
Department of Natural Resources,
take to hedging well. It’s great for pro-
them less brittle you should use a 1:2
he became a founding member of
viding cover for birds, as well as nesting
ratio of beeswax to myrtle wax.”
Coastal Wildscapes, a group ded-
locations and food.” I had no idea the wax myrtle was so
icated to growing native gardens.
He knows plants like I know birds. So,
But there is so much more to this bush
versatile. Nature knows what is best for
when it came time to write about wax
than just being a bird-friendly hedge.
us and provides the right connections
myrtles, I asked him. He came through
It’s a hearty plant. Wax myrtles can
for us — and the birds. MAY/J UN E 2021
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