bayberry

American  

[bey-ber-ee, -buh-ree] / ˈbeɪˌbɛr i, -bə ri /

noun

plural

bayberries

1. any of several often aromatic trees or shrubs of the genus Myrica, as M. pensylvanica, of northeastern North America, and M. californica, of the western U.S.

2. the berry of such a plant.

3. bay.

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bayberry British  

/ ˈbeɪbərɪ /

noun

1. any of several North American aromatic shrubs or small trees of the genus Myrica , that bear grey waxy berries: family Myricaceae See also wax myrtle

2. Also called: bay rum tree.  a tropical American myrtaceous tree, Pimenta racemosa , that yields an oil used in making bay rum

3. the fruit of any of these plants

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Etymology

Origin of bayberry

First recorded in 1570–80; bay ⁴ + berry

Example Sentences

Now, it is a larger and maturing display that includes towering shrubs of buttonbush and bayberry amid lower drifts of lobelia, aster, swamp mallow, goldenrod and winterberry.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 27, 2021

They set up their summer camps within dunes blanketed with beach grass and sand pea, amid thickets of bayberry, oak and red cedar.

From New York Times • Aug. 12, 2021

More than 100 seedlings, including pin oak, American birch, magnolias and redbuds, plus nearly 400 shrubs, including winterberry, northern bayberry, witch hazel, highbush blueberry and azaleas, will be planted, he said.

From Washington Post • May 2, 2017

Once, it had been a joy to follow those roads through the evergreen forests—roads lined with bayberry and sweet fern, alder and huckleberry.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 3, 2017

Once it had been a joy to follow those roads through the evergreen forests, roads lined with bayberry and sweet fern, alder and huckleberry.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson