Waxberry (Morella rubra Lour.), a evergreen tree species in the Myricaceae family, has a neat, spherical crown; its branches are fragile and easily breakable. The leaves are leathery, alternate, lanceolate or ovate in shape; the plants are dioecious or occasionally monoecious. Female flowers are in soft racemes, bright red and thread-like; the fruit is a spherical drupe with nipple-like protrusions on the outer surface, coming in red, purple, white, pink, and other colors. The flowering season is in April, and the fruiting season is from June to July.
Waxberry is native to Sanqi Market, Yao City, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, China. The Shiao Site has the earliest and most accurate remains of the waxberry tree in China, dating back to 2520 BC, which is over 4500 years ago.
