Index / Search / Morella californica

§1 Plant

Morella californica (Cham.) Wilbur

vernacular California wax myrtle — species · Myricaceae


USDA
MOCA6
GBIF
3168990
Rank
species
PlateNo public-domain or CC photograph located.

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Shrub, Tree
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Myricaceae Rich. ex Kunth
Genus
Morella
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b

County-level range

· 12 counties across 2 states/territories
Legend Native · 12 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Low
Shade
High
Moisture use
Medium
Fire
Low
Salinity
High
Anaerobic
Low
CaCO₃
Medium
Hedging
Low
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
22 °F minimum
Frost-free days
240 min.
Precipitation
40–70 in/yr
pH range
6–7.5
Root depth
20 in min.
Fertility need
Low
Soil texture
coarse, medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Multiple Stem
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Long
Mature height
33 ft
Height @ 20 y
30 ft
Foliage texture
Coarse
Foliage colour
Dark Green
Porosity (summer)
Moderate
Porosity (winter)
Moderate
Flower colour
Yellow
Fruit colour
Blue
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
Low
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Early Summer
Seed abundance
Medium
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
22,000
Propagation
seed, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
Yes
Browse palatability
Low
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 12 counties across 2 states/territories.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/MOCA6 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/3168990 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T14:42:51Z