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Questions and Answers: 2015

Question: Hello, could you help me out with this shrub? I found it on a beach in Brooklyn, New York.

  • Question

    Hello, could you help me out with this shrub? I found it on a beach in Brooklyn, New York.

    Answer

    Dear Gardenbed, you have photographed Morella caroliniensis (small bayberry), the famous plant of bayberry candles. The fruits are wax-encrusted achenes that will generate a noticeable fragrance, as do the leaves and bark. This is a native member of the Myricaceae (bayberry family).