Myrica faya
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 Myrica faya foliage and male catkins
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| Myrica faya Ait. |
Myrica faya (Faya or Haya; syn. Morella faya (Ait.) Wilbur) is a species of Myrica, native to Macaronesia (the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands), and possibly also southern Portugal.
It is an evergreen shrub or small tree 3-8 m tall, rarely up to 15 m tall. The leaves are usually a dark, glossy green, 4-11 cm long and 1-3 cm broad, with an entire margin and a bluntly pointed apex.
It is subdioecious, with the male and female flowers produced largely on separate plants, but often with a few flowers of the other sex present (Binggeli 1997). The male flowers have four stamens and are normally produced in clumps close to the branch. The female flowers, usually occuring in similar groups grow slightly farther from the branch tips. The fruit is an edible drupe 5-6 mm diameter, it is a reddish purple ripening dark purple to black. It is used as an astringent remedy for catarrh (Pérez 1999, Rushforth, 1999).
In Macaronesian islands it occurs most abundantly at altitudes of 600-900 m. The Portuguese population may be either native, or else naturalised following early importation from Madeira or the Azores (Rushforth, 1999). It is also an invasive species in Hawaii, where it often chokes out smaller, surrounding plants. It easily grows in any type of soil.
[edit] References
- Binggeli, P. (1997). Myrica faya. University of Bangor.
- Pérez, M. Á. C. (1999). Native Flora of the Canary Islands. ISBN 84-241-3555-5.
- Rushforth, K. D. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
- Flora Europaea: Myrica faya
- University of Hawaii: Myrica faya native habitats
- University of Hawaii: Myrica faya as an invasive species in Hawaii
