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A Forager’s Year

No. 154

Wax myrtle

Morella cerifera

southern bayberry, bayberry; also northern bayberry

Fruit ripe berries, dried and ground as a seasoning

Drawing: Britton & Brown, Illustrated Flora (1913)

No modern safety review found. Searches of extension, poison-center, government and medical-literature sources found no modern review of eating wax myrtle berries or their wax; NC State lists no poisonous part but does not discuss eating them.

Find
Patchy
Effort
Quick kitchen prep
ID risk
Beginner
Origin
native
Uses
  • Eat raw / salad
  • Wine & spirits
  • Spice & seasoning

Season

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

in season peak

Picking: At least one park allows it. See Where you may pick.

What these mean

Find

1 Everywhere · 2 Common in the right habitat · 3 Patchy · 4 Elusive. This is about how much there is, not whether you may pick it. It is based on iNaturalist sightings within 25 km (about 15 miles) of downtown DC, counted on October 3, 2026. The four rules that each plant’s “Find” reason refers to: (A) the estimate is the confirmed sightings, plus the unconfirmed ones (scaled down where the plant has lookalikes in its genus), plus the sightings marked as planted; (B) the tier by estimate: 1,500 or more is tier 1, 250–1,499 tier 2, 50–249 tier 3, under 50 tier 4; (C) tier 1, Everywhere, also needs a source saying the plant is common in lawns, sidewalks, yards or gardens, vacant lots or towns, or at least one DC street tree of it per km of sidewalk, otherwise it is tier 2; (D) if a reliable source says the plant is rare in this region, or that wild plants rarely bear the harvest, only planted sightings count. iNaturalist is a website and phone app where people post photos of the plants and animals they see. A sighting is “research grade” when other users have confirmed what it is; “needs ID” sightings are not confirmed yet, and “cultivated” ones are marked as planted.

Effort

1 Grab & eat · 2 Quick kitchen prep (under about 30 minutes) · 3 Real work (hours, or cooking needed for safety) · 4 Project (days or equipment). Scored on the simplest worthwhile use; each plant’s page says why.

ID risk

How hard it is to harvest safely. Beginner: no dangerous lookalike, and the edible part is not easily confused with a toxic part. Careful: a toxic lookalike, or toxic parts that end up in the harvest unless removed (for example elderberry stems, unripe ground cherries), or other parts of the plant rated medium-or-higher toxicity, with reliable features to separate them. Expert only: a potentially deadly lookalike that is hard to separate, or (for not-recommended harvests like pokeweed) a plant whose safe preparation can’t be guaranteed. Toxic parts that are obviously separate and thrown away anyway (pits, seeds, skins) don’t raise it; the Toxic parts mark carries that warning.

Native or not, and the invader stars

Origin is where the plant comes from: native, non-native, or mixed (the harvest covers both). The stars rate plants on invasive plant lists: ★★★ Virginia DCR “High” or Maryland prohibited invasive · ★★ Virginia “Medium” · ★ Virginia “Low” · ☆ listed only by the Maryland Invasive Species Council or the Mid-Atlantic Plant Invaders guide (advisory) · no stars: native or not listed.

Seasons

Start, peak and end are given in thirds of a month: early, mid or late. A plant counts as in season for a month if it is in season at any point in that month. Some greens and roots have a second window, in spring or fall; their page shows each window. A season that runs across New Year is shown as one window.

What it looks like

A native evergreen shrub or small tree of the bayberry family, usually 6-12 feet tall but able to reach 20 feet or more (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; NC State); in the northern zones of its range it is only semi-evergreen (NC State). The leaves are narrow, 3-5 inches long, glossy, toothed near the tip and dotted with tiny yellow resin glands underneath, and they give off the distinctive bayberry candle fragrance when crushed (NC State). The bark is gray-brown to almost white and smooth (NC State). Male and female flowers usually grow on separate plants, and only female plants bear berries (NC State; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center). The berries are tiny, 2-3 mm across (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center): light green, dry drupes covered with a layer of pale blue wax (USDA Forest Service FEIS), sitting in stalkless clusters of 2-6 on the previous year’s twigs, and highly aromatic (NC State). Eat The Weeds describes them as BB-size, light green to bluish-white, with a strong bayberry scent, and says that although the berries are strong, they can be eaten fresh off the tree. Boiling the berries releases the wax once used for bayberry candles (USDA Forest Service FEIS). Northern bayberry, a close relative that Eat The Weeds says has been used the same way, is a deciduous to semi-evergreen shrub 6-8 feet tall whose small grayish-white, waxy berries appear in late summer and stay on until April (NC State); the two species hybridize (USDA Forest Service FEIS).

Safety

NC State lists no poisonous part of wax myrtle, but no modern poison-center, extension or toxicology source was found that looks at eating the berries. Eat The Weeds says the berries were used for seasoning, but sparingly, as they are waxy. Plants For A Future, a plant database, says there is a report that some of the constituents of the wax are carcinogenic and that large doses cause vomiting; it also says that one constituent may cause salt retention (avoid with high blood pressure or kidney disease) and that its tannins may cause stomach irritation and liver damage. No qualifying source was found that confirms these warnings. Wax myrtle pollen is a known hay-fever allergen in Florida (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology), but no source reports a reaction to eating the berries. NC State says wax myrtle is often confused with oleander and Japanese pieris, both rated high in poison severity and possibly fatal if eaten, and with dahoon holly, whose small red-orange fruits are poisonous (NC State, low severity). None of them bears wax myrtle’s clusters of tiny gray, wax-coated, strongly scented berries along the twigs: oleander’s fruits are slender pods 5 to 7 inches long, Japanese pieris has small dry capsules, and dahoon holly has red-orange berries. Wax myrtle leaves are alternate, toothed near the tip, dotted with tiny yellow resin glands underneath, and smell of bayberry candles when crushed; oleander leaves are opposite or in whorls of 3 or 4, Japanese pieris leaves are crowded at the branch tips, and dahoon holly leaves have no glands underneath (NC State).

Lookalikes

  • Oleander Nerium oleander deadly

    Does not resemble the berries. NC State lists oleander among the plants wax myrtle is often confused with, and rates it high in poison severity: 'Highly toxic, may be fatal if eaten!' Oleander’s fruits are a slender pair of pod-like follicles 5 to 7 inches long, and its leaves are opposite or in whorls of 3 or 4, 4 to 7 inches long, with untoothed edges. Wax myrtle has tiny gray, wax-coated berries in clusters along the twigs, and alternate leaves toothed near the tip, dotted with yellow resin glands underneath and smelling of bayberry when crushed. NC State says oleander does not tolerate temperatures at or below 32 degrees F, and that in cold climates it can be grown in a container moved indoors for winter.

  • Japanese pieris Pieris japonica deadly

    Does not resemble the berries. NC State lists Japanese pieris among the plants wax myrtle is often confused with, and rates it high in poison severity: its leaves and nectar are poisonous and may be fatal. Its fruits are small, dry, 1/4-inch capsules, its leaves are crowded rosette-like at the branch tips, its new growth is bronze-green to reddish or pinkish, and it has white urn-shaped flowers in spring. Wax myrtle’s leaves are spread along the twig, dotted with yellow resin glands underneath and bayberry-scented, and its berries are wax-coated (NC State).

  • Dahoon holly Ilex cassine toxic

    Does not resemble the berries. NC State lists dahoon holly among the plants wax myrtle is often confused with, and lists its fruits as poisonous (low severity: vomiting, diarrhea or other illness). Its fruits are red-orange berry-like drupes, and its leaves have no glands underneath; wax myrtle’s berries are gray and wax-coated, and its leaves are dotted with yellow resin glands (NC State). NC State says dahoon holly is not winter hardy.

Safety flags

  • Eat in moderation

    wax coating of the berries: Eat The Weeds says the berries were used for seasoning, but sparingly, as they are waxy. Plants For A Future, a plant database, says large doses cause vomiting and that some constituents of the wax are reported to be carcinogenic; no qualifying source confirms either warning.

Safety marks and flags: what this means

Deadly lookalike / Toxic lookalike: a cited source names a lookalike of that danger, recorded near DC (an iNaturalist sighting within 25 km, a DC street tree, or a Smithsonian listing for DC) and looking like the part you eat. Other lookalikes are still listed, marked “not recorded near DC” or as not looking like the part you eat. Deadly means a source says eating it may be fatal or calls it deadly, or NC State rates it high severity with life-threatening symptoms (sources sometimes disagree; for example Virginia creeper). Each plant’s Lookalikes list says how to tell them apart; “harmless (may be edible)” lookalikes are listed so you know a mix-up isn’t dangerous. Cook first: cooking is needed for safety (for daylilies it is a precaution, not a sourced requirement). Eat in moderation: a source says to limit quantity or frequency (for example oxalates in sorrels and dock, ginkgotoxin, safrole). Spray risk: a source says the plant is commonly treated with herbicide in parks or lawns (invasive control, lawn weeds) or, for ginkgo, sprayed to stop fruiting. Contamination: a source says the plant concentrates pollutants. Each plant’s Safety flags list gives the details and sources.

ID risk
Beginner
Why
No dangerous lookalike resembles the berries. NC State says wax myrtle is often confused with oleander and Japanese pieris (both possibly fatal) and dahoon holly (poisonous red-orange fruits), but none bears wax myrtle’s tiny gray, wax-coated berries in clusters on the twigs, and only wax myrtle’s leaves are dotted with yellow resin glands underneath and smell of bayberry when crushed (NC State).
Soil risk
low
ID risk: what this means

How hard it is to harvest safely. Beginner: no dangerous lookalike, and the edible part is not easily confused with a toxic part. Careful: a toxic lookalike, or toxic parts that end up in the harvest unless removed (for example elderberry stems, unripe ground cherries), or other parts of the plant rated medium-or-higher toxicity, with reliable features to separate them. Expert only: a potentially deadly lookalike that is hard to separate, or (for not-recommended harvests like pokeweed) a plant whose safe preparation can’t be guaranteed. Toxic parts that are obviously separate and thrown away anyway (pits, seeds, skins) don’t raise it; the Toxic parts mark carries that warning.

Soil risk: what this means

Based on the part you eat, following the urban-soil lead guidance on the Field safety page: higher for greens, shoots and roots; moderate for flowers; low for fruit, nuts and sap.

Field safety for every outing (poison ivy, ticks, soil, and more)

When to pick

Starts
early Sep
Peak
early Oct–late Nov
Ends
late Mar

NC State says wax myrtle fruits are present from August through October, and the USDA Forest Service says the fruit ripens from August to October. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center says to collect the fruit in September or October. In Maryland and Virginia, iNaturalist photos show gray, wax-coated berries from early September, and most fruiting records fall in September and October. The berries may stay on the shrub over winter (USDA Forest Service FEIS), but birds, especially yellow-rumped warblers, eat them in fall and winter (NC State), so fewer remain late in the season. Northern bayberry’s berries appear in late summer and stay on until April (NC State).

How the dates were worked out

Every start, peak and end was re-checked in October 2026. “Sourced” means a source opened during the check states that timing for the DC or Mid-Atlantic area. “Estimated” means no source states it exactly; the reason, the evidence and the source links are under “How the dates were worked out” on each plant’s page. Peaks are often estimated, because few sources name a peak. iNaturalist evidence means research-grade sightings near DC, by month, of the plant at that stage (for example, in fruit). iNaturalist is a website and phone app where people post photos of the plants and animals they see. A sighting is “research grade” when other users have confirmed what it is; “needs ID” sightings are not confirmed yet, and “cultivated” ones are marked as planted.

Season basis: estimated: start, peak, end

Start

estimated: No Maryland, Virginia or DC source dates ripening. The range-wide sources put ripening in August to October, seed collectors start in September, and regional photos show the wax coat from early September.

Peak

estimated: No source names a peak; October and November are when the berries are fully coated and ripe and before winter birds have taken most of them.

End

estimated: Berries persist into late winter and, for northern bayberry, until April; late March is the last month with fruiting records near DC, and birds thin the crop through the winter.

Evidence

start: NC State: 'Fruits are present from August through October.' USDA Forest Service FEIS: 'Its fruit ripens from August to October'. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: 'Collect fruit in September or October.' iNaturalist research-grade fruiting photos from MD and VA checked by eye: green fruit on Jul 23 (Worcester County MD); pale gray-green waxy fruit on Sep 1 (York River State Park VA); gray-white waxy berries on Sep 21 (Tilghman MD). | peak: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: 'Collect fruit in September or October.' NC State: fruits 'are eaten by birds, especially yellow-rumped warbler (which are very efficient at digesting the waxy fruits) in the fall and winter.' iNaturalist fruiting records in MD, VA and DC by month: Sep 23, Oct 13, Nov 5, Dec 6, Jan 8, Mar 3. | end: USDA Forest Service FEIS: berries 'may persist over winter'. NC State (northern bayberry): fruits 'appear in late summer and persist until April.' iNaturalist fruiting records: January 8 and March 3 in MD, VA and DC, including one within 25 km of DC on March 22 (Metropolitan Branch Trail).

Where to look

Mostly planted near DC, in public gardens, parks and along trails; wild plants grow mainly in the Coastal Plain. Logged most along the Mount Vernon Trail near Jones Point in Alexandria, where the GW Memorial Parkway allows no gathering (look only). The C&O Canal allows edible fruits generally but sets no limit for wax myrtle and has none logged, so it is ambiguous there (ask the park); Virginia state parks allow edible berries, though none are logged at Mason Neck or Leesylvania; otherwise pick from private shrubs with the owner’s permission.

Habitats
street & yard trees (planted), disturbed ground & waste places, old fields & meadows, woods edges, trailsides & thickets, floodplain & stream-valley forest, wetlands, marshes & pond edges
Habitats: what this means

Listed where the plant’s own sources place it in that habitat. “Disturbed ground & waste places” means a cited source places it on disturbed areas, sites, soil or ground, on waste places or waste ground, on construction or abandoned building sites (old home sites count), on rubble or in strip mines. When the source gives examples of the disturbed places, at least one example must be of that kind. Examples that do not count: natural or forestry disturbance (treefall gaps, fire, windthrow, flood scour, old riverbanks and creeks, clear-cuts); roadsides, railroads and rights-of-way; and abandoned fields, pastures and farmland, which are “Old fields & meadows”. “Vacant lots” only where a source says vacant or empty lots.

Most-logged places

None of the most-logged places allows picking.

No picking here (1 place)
  • Mount Vernon Trail

    2 sightings · Legal to pick: no · see them on iNaturalist

    Look but don’t pick: GW Memorial Parkway sites (incl. Great Falls VA, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Dyke Marsh) designate nothing for gathering.

Most-logged places: what this means

The places with the most research-grade iNaturalist sightings within 25 km of downtown DC (re-counted in October 2026 over every named place, campuses, condominiums and private grounds included), each marked legal to pick or not. A sighting inside several named places counts once, for the smallest of them, but a sighting inside a National Park Service park never counts for a private, campus or unchecked place. iNaturalist shows where people walk and log plants, not true abundance. Private campuses, condominiums, museums, estates and utility land (Pepco’s power-line land near Sligo Creek) are marked “no” (pick only with the owner’s permission); public university campuses, city parks and other places whose picking rules were not checked (county stormwater land, the U.S. Capitol Grounds, Greenbelt’s North Woods, federal facilities such as the National Zoo) are “unknown”. A place needs at least 2 sightings, so plants with very few sightings have no places. At-risk plants (butternut, nannyberry, American chestnut, ramps, riverbank goldenrod) get places like every other plant; each page says why the plant is at risk and gives any advice its sources give. For some places, mostly Rock Creek Park, the iNaturalist map shows more sightings than the count here, because a map link cannot leave out exactly the sightings credited to another place. iNaturalist is a website and phone app where people post photos of the plants and animals they see. A sighting is “research grade” when other users have confirmed what it is; “needs ID” sightings are not confirmed yet, and “cultivated” ones are marked as planted.

Ways to use it

  • seasoning: grind the berries and use them like pepper, sparingly, as they are waxy (Eat The Weeds)
  • flavoring for soups and stews as a bay-leaf substitute, with the leaves (Plants For A Future)
  • eat a few fresh off the shrub; they are strong (Eat The Weeds)
  • wine (Eat The Weeds)
  • harvest only from female shrubs, the only ones that bear berries (NC State; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center)

Keeping

Dry them and keep them in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark place for up to a year, grinding them like pepper as needed.

Use within
weeks
Keeps fresh
No source gives a fresh storage time. The berries are small, dry, wax-coated fruits that may stay on the shrub over winter (USDA Forest Service FEIS); dry them for storage.
Keeping basis
general guidance for its type

Ways to keep it

  • Dry as researched: dry/dehydrate (tea or seasoning); canning: n/a (not shelf-canned)

    Dry, then grind the berries and use them like pepper (Eat The Weeds). Store in airtight containers in a cool, dry, dark area to protect color and fragrance; recommended storage times for dried foods range from 4 months to 1 year (general guidance for dried herbs; NCHFP).

  • Ferment as researched: ferment/wine; canning: n/a (not shelf-canned)

    Eat The Weeds says the berries can be preserved or even made into a wine.

Canning: what this means

Shelf-stable canning, three levels. Lab-tested: a lab-tested recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) or Oregon State covers this fruit and product, or a generic recipe for its kind (the line says so, for example chokeberry). Extension recipe: a published Extension recipe (University of Alaska Fairbanks, written for Alaska species; University of Maine’s dandelion jelly), or a process that is safe only with a pH meter; follow it exactly, never improvise. No tested recipe: refrigerate or freeze, don’t can. “Hot-bottled syrup” = maple and walnut syrup, which keep when bottled hot at full syrup density. The Canning line names the exact product each source covers, for example “whole berries” or “juice”; a product not named there (such as juice from a berry with only a whole-berry recipe) has no tested recipe.

Keeping basis: what this means

“Specific to this plant” or “general guidance for its type” (for example NCHFP guidance for leafy greens applied to a wild green).

Nutrition

Not researched: in October 2026, only the calendar’s plants of the month and chicory leaves were researched.

Native or not

Native, but near DC it grows wild mainly in the Coastal Plain (Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora: common in the Coastal Plain, rare in the outer Piedmont), and it is frequently cultivated outside its natural range and sometimes escapes near plantings.

Origin
native
Native range
New Jersey to Central America and the Caribbean, west to Oklahoma and Texas (northern bayberry: Newfoundland to North Carolina)
Virginia invasive rank
not listed
Maryland invasive status
not listed
Native or not, and the invader stars: what this means

Origin is where the plant comes from: native, non-native, or mixed (the harvest covers both). The stars rate plants on invasive plant lists: ★★★ Virginia DCR “High” or Maryland prohibited invasive · ★★ Virginia “Medium” · ★ Virginia “Low” · ☆ listed only by the Maryland Invasive Species Council or the Mid-Atlantic Plant Invaders guide (advisory) · no stars: native or not listed.

Virginia DCR, Virginia Invasive Plant Species List (effective September 2024), verbatim: "Under the DCR Invasive Species Assessment Protocol, approved by the Virginia Invasive Species Working Group, January 2024, species were ranked as exhibiting high, medium or low levels of invasiveness based on their threat to natural communities and native species. Invasiveness rank is higher for species that: • Alter ecosystem processes, such as succession, hydrology or fire regime. • Are capable of invading undisturbed natural communities. • Cause substantial impacts on rare or vulnerable species or natural communities or high-quality examples of more common communities. • Are found widely distributed and generally abundant where present. • Disperse readily to new areas. • Are difficult to control." The list also states: "The list is for educational purposes only and has no regulatory authority."

Maryland Department of Agriculture, Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant Law and Regulations page, verbatim: "Plants on the Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant List may not be added to stock after the effective date and should not be sold after their phase-out period ends."

No official DC invasive plant list was found.

How the ratings were set

Find
Patchy Estimate 174 = 30 research-grade iNaturalist sightings within 25 km + 57 needs-ID sightings counted in full (wax myrtle and northern bayberry are the only Morella with research-grade sightings here) + 87 'cultivated' (planted) sightings (rule A); that is tier 3 by count (rule B). Rule D does not apply: the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora says wax myrtle is "rare in the outer Piedmont", but the same entry calls it "Common in the Coastal Plain", a region that takes in part of the circle; its "rare elsewhere in the Coastal Plain" for northern bayberry concerns a plant with 4 of the 30 research-grade sightings here. Final tier 3.
Effort
Quick kitchen prep Strip the small berries from a female shrub, dry them, and grind them like pepper into a dish; the drying is mostly passive.
Find: what this means

1 Everywhere · 2 Common in the right habitat · 3 Patchy · 4 Elusive. This is about how much there is, not whether you may pick it. It is based on iNaturalist sightings within 25 km (about 15 miles) of downtown DC, counted on October 3, 2026. The four rules that each plant’s “Find” reason refers to: (A) the estimate is the confirmed sightings, plus the unconfirmed ones (scaled down where the plant has lookalikes in its genus), plus the sightings marked as planted; (B) the tier by estimate: 1,500 or more is tier 1, 250–1,499 tier 2, 50–249 tier 3, under 50 tier 4; (C) tier 1, Everywhere, also needs a source saying the plant is common in lawns, sidewalks, yards or gardens, vacant lots or towns, or at least one DC street tree of it per km of sidewalk, otherwise it is tier 2; (D) if a reliable source says the plant is rare in this region, or that wild plants rarely bear the harvest, only planted sightings count. iNaturalist is a website and phone app where people post photos of the plants and animals they see. A sighting is “research grade” when other users have confirmed what it is; “needs ID” sightings are not confirmed yet, and “cultivated” ones are marked as planted.

Effort: what this means

1 Grab & eat · 2 Quick kitchen prep (under about 30 minutes) · 3 Real work (hours, or cooking needed for safety) · 4 Project (days or equipment). Scored on the simplest worthwhile use; each plant’s page says why.

Sources

33 sources, each linked to the original.

  1. C&O Canal NHP Superintendent’s Compendium National Park ServiceBacks up: picking rules
  2. Prince William Forest Park Superintendent’s Compendium National Park ServiceBacks up: picking rules
  3. Rock Creek Park Superintendent’s Compendium National Park ServiceBacks up: picking rules
  4. 4VAC5-30-50. Flowers, plants, minerals, etc. Virginia Law Library (law.lis.virginia.gov)Backs up: picking rules
  5. Morella cerifera (Wax Myrtle, Southern Bayberry) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower CenterBacks up: description, season, habitat, uses
  6. Morella cerifera species review (Fire Effects Information System) USDA Forest ServiceBacks up: description, season, habitat, keeping
  7. Myrica cerifera (Wax Myrtle, Southern Bayberry) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: description, season, safety, picking rules, native or invasive status
  8. Myrica pensylvanica (Northern Bayberry) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: description, season, native or invasive status
  9. iNaturalist research-grade observations of wax myrtle and northern and southern bayberry within 25 km of downtown DC iNaturalistBacks up: findability
  10. Wax myrtle, northern and southern bayberry: observations marked 'cultivated' (planted) within 25 km of DC iNaturalistBacks up: habitat
  11. Morella pensylvanica (Mirbel) Kartesz (Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora) Virginia Botanical Associates (Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora)Backs up: habitat, findability
  12. Morella cerifera (L.) Small (Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora) Virginia Botanical Associates (Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora)Backs up: habitat, findability, native or invasive status
  13. Annotated Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Washington-Baltimore Area, Part I (Shetler & Orli, 2000) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of BotanyBacks up: habitat, findability
  14. Herbs (drying) National Center for Home Food Preservation (Univ. of Georgia)Backs up: keeping
  15. Packaging and Storing Dried Foods National Center for Home Food Preservation (Univ. of Georgia)Backs up: keeping
  16. USDA PLANTS Database: Morella cerifera (MOCE2), native status USDA NRCSBacks up: native or invasive status
  17. USDA PLANTS Database: Morella pensylvanica (MOPE6), native status USDA NRCSBacks up: native or invasive status
  18. Virginia Invasive Plant Species List (effective date: September 2024) Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural HeritageBacks up: native or invasive status
  19. Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant Law and Regulations (Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant List, updated January 2026; additions effective July 15, 2026; 'Next Plants To Be Assessed' 2026-2027) Maryland Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection & Weed ManagementBacks up: native or invasive status
  20. Non-Native Invasive Terrestrial Plant Species in the State of Maryland (updates approved through the April 18, 2024 MISC meeting) Maryland Invasive Species CouncilBacks up: native or invasive status
  21. Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, Field Guide (Swearingen & Fulton, 2022; successor to the NPS/USFWS 5th ed., 2017) Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council / Passiflora Press (hosted by Bugwood/Mid-Atlantic Invaders Tool)Backs up: native or invasive status
  22. Invasive Plants in the District DC Department of Energy & EnvironmentBacks up: native or invasive status
  23. Nasal and bronchial provocation challenges with bayberry (Myrica cerifera) pollen extract (Jacinto et al., J Allergy Clin Immunol 1992; PubMed record, with Prince & Meyer, Ann Allergy 1977) Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (via PubMed, US National Library of Medicine)Backs up: safety
  24. Oleander (Nerium oleander): verifiable observations within 25 km of DC iNaturalistBacks up: safety
  25. Dahoon holly (Ilex cassine): verifiable observations within 25 km of DC iNaturalistBacks up: safety
  26. Japanese pieris (Pieris japonica): verifiable observations within 25 km of DC iNaturalistBacks up: safety
  27. Myrica cerifera (Plants For A Future database) Plants For A FutureBacks up: safety, uses
  28. Nerium oleander (Oleander) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: safety, safety details
  29. Pieris japonica (Japanese Pieris) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: safety, safety details
  30. Ilex cassine (Dahoon Holly) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: safety, safety details
  31. Wax myrtle, northern and southern bayberry: research-grade fruiting observations in Maryland, Virginia and DC, with photos (fruiting annotation) iNaturalistBacks up: season
  32. Wax myrtle, northern and southern bayberry: research-grade fruiting observations in Maryland, Virginia and DC, by month iNaturalistBacks up: season
  33. Myrica cerifera: A Tree That Makes Scents Eat The Weeds (Green Deane)Backs up: uses, description, safety, keeping