Myrtle \Myr"tle\ (m[~e]r"t'l), n. [F. myrtil bilberry, prop., a little myrtle, from myrte myrtle, L. myrtus, murtus, Gr. my`rtos; cf. Per. m[=u]rd.]

(Bot.) A species of the genus Myrtus, especially Myrtus communis. The common myrtle has a shrubby, upright stem, eight or ten feet high. Its branches form a close, full head, thickly covered with ovate or lanceolate evergreen leaves. It has solitary axillary white or rosy flowers, followed by black several-seeded berries. The ancients considered it sacred to Venus. The flowers, leaves, and berries are used variously in perfumery and as a condiment, and the beautifully mottled wood is used in turning.

Note: The name is also popularly but wrongly applied in America to two creeping plants, the blue-flowered periwinkle and the yellow-flowered moneywort. In the West Indies several myrtaceous shrubs are called myrtle.

Bog myrtle, the sweet gale.

Crape myrtle. See under Crape.

Myrtle warbler (Zo["o]l.), a North American wood warbler (Dendroica coronata); -- called also myrtle bird, yellow-rumped warbler, and yellow-crowned warbler.

Myrtle wax. (Bot.) See Bayberry tallow, under Bayberry.

Sand myrtle, a low, branching evergreen shrub (Leiophyllum buxifolium), growing in New Jersey and southward.

Wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera). See Bayberry.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Periwinkle \Per"i*win`kle\, n. [OE. pervenke, AS. pervince, fr. L. pervinca.]

(Bot.) A trailing herb of the genus Vinca.

Note: The common perwinkle (Vinca minor) has opposite evergreen leaves and solitary blue or white flowers in their axils. In America it is often miscalled myrtle. See under Myrtle.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)