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The Chinese bayberry (Myrica rubra) belongs to Myricaceae (the Bayberry family). It is a tall evergreen tree that is distributed westward from Kanto district of Honshu to Shikoku, Kyushu in Japan, as well as Taiwan, the southern Korean Peninsula, China, Philippine and Malaysia. This tree grows in the coastal areas and can reach 20-25 m in height. The leaves are oblong and alternate. It is dioecism and borne long spikes in March to April. The male inflorescences are orange-red and the female ones are ponceau. The fruits are ripen bright red in early summer. The barks are used to Chinese herbal medicines for detoxicant, hemostat or antidiarrheic. It contains tannin and used for dyewood. In Taiwanese Chinese, it is called "楊梅", and "楊梅" (yang mei) in Chinese.
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