Bayberry

[f. BAY sb.¹ 2.]

  1.  The fruit of the bay-tree.

1578.  Lyte, Dodoens, 688. Called in Latine Lauri baccæ, in English Bay berries.

1747.  Gentl. Mag., XVII. 409. Take of aniseed … bay-berries, myrrh … of each half an ounce.

  2.  In U.S., the fruit of the Wax-myrtle (Myrica cerifera), and the plant itself, an American shrub that bears a berry covered with a wax-like coating.

1860.  Bartlett, Dict. Amer., s.v., The berries, when boiled in water, yield a fragrant green wax, known as ‘bayberry tallow,’ used for making candles, etc.

1878.  R. Thompson, Gard. Assist. (Moore), 657/1. Myrica cerifera, candleberry, bay-berry, or wax-myrtle.—Very near the sweet-gale.

  3.  In Jamaica, the fruit of the ‘Bayberry Tree,’ Eugenia acris, a species of Pimento.

1756.  P. Browne, Jamaica, 247. The Bayberry Tree … The berries resemble our cloves, both in form and flavour.