Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

southern bayberry Myricaceae Morella caroliniensis (Mill.) Small Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: MOCA7
Leaf: Alternate, evergreen, simple, fragrant (but less so than M. cerifera), elliptical to oblanceolate in shape, 4+ inches long and over an inch wide, toothed, dark green and waxy-shiny above, pale green below, yellow resin dots on lower surface only.
Flower: Species is dioecious; both male and female flowers are small (1/2 inch), appearing as catkins in the leaf axils in spring.
Fruit: Round, waxy bluish-white drupes (1/4 inch in diameter), appearing in clusters on short stalks.
Twig: Slender and brittle, covered with brown pubescence, becoming smooth and gray-brown with age.
Bark: Thin and smooth, gray-brown.
Form: A shrub to 10 feet tall, often multi-stemmed and growing in clusters, generally rounded or irregular in shape, with a crooked or twisting bole.

southern bayberry leaf image
southern bayberry fruit image
southern bayberry twig image
southern bayberry bark image
southern bayberry form image
southern bayberry map image

Additional Range Information: Morella caroliniensis is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information