Wax myrtle (Morella cerifera aka Myrica cerifera) is a native evergreen dioecious (male and female plants) shrub to small tree in the Myricaceae. The leaves are alternate, simple, evergreen, and with pinnate major veins. The staminate catkins are oblong, cylindric, and reddish yellow while the pistillate catkins are short and ovoid. The fruit is a drupe. Other common names include wax berry, spice bush, candle berry, bay berry, sweet oak, tallow shrub and in southwestern Louisiana myrkle bush. The crushed blade has a strong aromatic odor and can be used as a tea or spice. The drupe is about 1/8" diameter, light green to blue, covered with granules of bluish white wax. The fruit is eaten by about 40 species of birds, especially bobwhite quail and turkey. Candles can be made by boiling the waxy drupes or you could add the fruits to the melted wax in a regular candle, let it harden and have a partial bayberry candle. The bark and leaves are reputed to have medicinal properties. The dark brown wood is light, brittle, soft, fine-grained, with lighter sapwood, weighing 35 lbs per cu ft. One of the most common and widely distributed shrubs in the state with a wide range of habitats from the marsh to dry sandy soil. My ancestors used branches of this plant placed where the dogs slept to keep fleas away. Caterpillars of one butterfly (Red-banded hairstreak) and six moths: Polyphemus, io, imperial, cecropia, crowned Slug Moth, and Red-humped Caterpillar Moth are reported to use wax myrtle. Lots of this one on Allen Acres. Reported from 55 parishes;