Myrtle /(mẽr"t'l)/
Myr·tle
Myrtle
n.
- 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. (Bot.)
Phrases & Compounds
- Bog myrtle
- the sweet gale.
- Crape myrtle
- See under Crape.
- Myrtle warbler
- a North American wood warbler (Dendroica coronata); -- called also myrtle bird, yellow-rumped warbler, and yellow-crowned warbler.
- Myrtle wax
- 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.