MYRTLES

Noun

myrtles

plural of myrtle

Source: Wiktionary

MYRTLE

Myr"tle, n. Etym: [F. myrtil bilberry, prop., a little myrtle, from myrte myrtle, L. myrtus, murtus, Gr. m.] (Bot.)

Definition: 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 (Zoöl.), 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition