The candleberry, candleberey myrtle, waxmyrtle, etc (Myriad cerifera), is a shrub of the natural order Myricaceae, growing from four to eighteen feet high, and common in North America, where candles were made from its drupes or berries, which are about the size of peppercorns, and covered with a greenish-white wax popularly known as Blayberry tallow. The wax was collected by boiling the drupes in water and skimming off the surface. A bushel of berries yields from 4 to 5 lbs. of wax. Another plant belonging to the same genus is the sweet-gale (MyricaGale), which grows abundantly in bogs and marshes in Scotland. It is a small shrub, with leaves somewhat like the myrtle or willow, of a fragrant odour and bittertaste, and yielding an essential oil by distillation. Research Candleberry
The myrtle (Myrtus communis) is an evergreen much branched shrub of the family Myrtaceae. It has leathery opposite leaves which are ovate-lanceolate, pointed and extremely aromatic when crushed. The fragrant flowers are white and borne on stalks. Research Myrtle
The rata (Metrosideros robusta) is a New Zealand tree with myrtle-like leaves and bright-red flowers. Its timber is used in ship building. Research Rata
Adonis was a Phoenician god symbolising vegetation scorched by the heat of the sun, adopted by Greek mythology as a mortal favourite of Aphrodite. According to Greek mythology, Adonis was a son of Myrrha who had been changed into a myrtle tree by the gods. When Adonis was born, Aphrodite hid him in a chest which she gave to Persephone for safe keeping. Persephone, upon opening the chest was so struck by the beauty of the infant Adonis that she decided to keep him. Aphrodite appealed to Zeus, who decided that Adonis should spend a third of each year with Zeus, Aphrodite and Persephone. When Adonis grew up, Aphrodite fell in love with him but he was killed by a wild boar while out hunting. Upon finding him Aphrodite caused the plant the anemone to rise from his blood. Research Adonis
In Greek mythology, Aphrodite was the goddess of love (equivalent to the Roman Venus, Phoenician Astarte and the Babylonian Ishtar). She is said to be either a daughter of Zeus or to have sprung from the foam of the sea. She was the unfaithful wife of Hephaestus, the god of fire, and the mother of Eros. Aphrodite surpassed all the other goddesses in beauty, and hence received the prize of beauty from Paris. She likewise had the power of granting beauty and invinciblecharm to others. In the vegetable kingdom the myrtle, rose, apple, and poppy, among others, were sacred to Aphrodite, as, in the animal world, were the sparrow, dove, swan, and swallow. Research Aphrodite
Erato was the muse of love and marriage songs. When she was playing she carried a lyre in the one hand and a plectrum in the other, and was crowned with roses and myrtle. Research Erato
Allspice is a spice prepared from the dried berries of the evergreen pimento tree or West Indian pepper tree Pimenta dioica of the myrtle family, cultivated chiefly in Jamaica. It has an aroma similar to that of a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Research Allspice
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Candleberry
