Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - myrtle

 noun  Usage: often attributive  Etymology: Middle English mirtille, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin myrtillus, from Latin myrtus, from Greek myrtos  Date: 1562  1.  a. a common evergreen bushy shrub (Myrtus communis of the family Myrtaceae, the ~ family) of southern Europe with oval to lance-shaped shiny leaves, fragrant white or rosy flowers, and black berries  b. any of the chiefly tropical shrubs or trees comprising the ~ family  2.  a. periwinkle I,1a  b. California laurel