Question: Here is a plant I feel I know well, yet I don't know what to call it. In Wikipedia, it …
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Question
Here is a plant I feel I know well, yet I don't know what to call it. In Wikipedia, it is referred to as Northern Bayberry, Myrica pensylvanica, and Morella pensylvanica. The MA costal plant ID Guide calls it Myrica pensylvanica, and it seems to be listed in Go Botany as Small Bayberry, Morella carolinensis. Moreover, the distribution map in your website shows a much more southern distribution than does the map in Wikipedia. Can you make sense of this confusion?
Answer
chaffeemonell, The genus Myrica has been subdivided into two genera: Myrica (in the strict sense) with compressed achenes not encrusted by wax that are enclosed in two accrescent bracts and Morella with spherical achenes encrusted by wax that are subtended (but not enclosed by) 4-6 small bracts. Our species of bayberry is Morella caroliniensis. The northern and southern bayberries have been shown to significantly overlap in morphology and represent a north to south cline of phenotypes (i.e., there are no gaps in the morphology, but a gradual change from north to south). Therefore, one, variable species is recognized rather than a northern and southern species. Best wishes.
