Morella rubra

Plant Characteristics

Habit		tree

Cultivation

Features:	✓	edible, fruit

Scientific Names

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Myrica rubra, also called yangmei; yamamomo, Chinese Bayberry, Japanese Bayberry, Red Bayberry, or Chinese strawberry tree (and often mistranslated from Chinese as arbutus) is subtropical tree grown for its sweet crimson to dark purple-red fruit.

It is native to eastern Asia, mainly in China, where it has been grown for at least 2000 years, and probably also Japan and Southeast Asia as well. Chinese cultivation is concentrated south of the Yangtze River, where it is of considerable economic importance.

In Japan, it is the prefectural flower of Kōchi and the prefectural tree of Tokushima. The plant's name appears in many old Japanese poems.

Read about Morella rubra in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Myrica rubra, Sieb. & Zucc. (M. Nagi, DC., not Thunb.). Shrub or small tree: branchlets slightly pubescent: lvs. oblong-lanceolate, acutish, cuneate, entire or serrate above the middle, dark green above, paler beneath, glabrous, 3-5 in. long: staminate catkins cylindric; stamens 6-10: fr. globose or ovoid, tuberculate, deep red- purple, ½­l in. across; stone ovoid, compressed. April, May; fr. in July. S. China, Japan.—Cult. for its edible fr. There is a variety with rose-colored finer flavored fr. The berries are vinous and sweet with a pleasant acid taste and are used like blackberries; the fresh juice makes an agreeable beverage. The tree is supposed to stand about 15° of frost. Intro, in 1889. The M. Nagi, Thunb., is Podocarpus Nagi. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Characteristics

It is a small to medium-sized tree growing to 10-20 metres in height, evergreen, with smooth gray bark and a uniform spherical to hemispherical crown. It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. It tolerates poor acidic soils. The root system is shallow (5–60 cm), with no obvious taproot.

The fruit is spherical, 1.5-2.5 cm in diameter, with a knobby surface. The surface color is typically a deep, brilliant red, but may vary from white to purple. The flesh color is similar to surface color, or somewhat lighter. The flesh is sweet and very tart. At the center is a single seed, with a diameter about half that of the whole fruit.

Uses

Besides fresh consumption, the fruits are commonly dried, canned, soaked in baijiu (Chinese liquor), or fermented into alcoholic beverages.[1] Some cultivars with large fruit, up to 4 cm diameter, have been developed. A dye may be prepared from the bark. The plant is also used as ornamental trees for parks and streets.

References

• Flora of China: Myrica rubra
• Myrica rubra photos