Morella cordifolia was a valuable plant in the domestic life of the early colonists who obtained a fine wax from the layer of wax that covers the fruits. The process of obtaining wax was first noted by Thunberg in 1772; the berries are thrown into boiling water and the molten wax which floats is skimmed off and strained through muslin or other cloth into cold water. The solidified wax is pressed into cakes, then remelted and cast into moulds and then bleached in the sun.

The wax makes an excellent polish (some consider it superior to beeswax), it was used as an ointment for dressing wounds, to make candles and to make soap.

The berry wax has also been eaten as a food since early times, in particular by the Khoi. The wax is in fact not wax, but a true fat. The fruit coat yields 20% of a fat consisting of the glycerides of stearic, palmitic and myristic acids, lauric acid and unsaturated fatty acids. The kernel yields 1.85% oil, which is pale yellow-green in colour and rich in free fatty acids, mainly unsaturated, and palmitic and myristic acids. Only 9% of the total acid content is saturated.

Unfortunately, the colour and its high content of free fatty acids and unsaponifiable material render it unsuitable for industrial exploitation. [If a fatty substance is heat-treated with an alkaline solution, like caustic soda, soap is formed (saponification). After this treatment the material that can be extracted with a suitable solvent is called unsaponifiable matter. Unsaponifiable fats contain a number of compounds such as sterols, hydrocarbons, pigments, fatty acids and vitamins. Certain problem compounds are contained in the hydrocarbon portion.]

The bark of the roots and stems was used for tanning skins. The bark from stems and rhizomes was used medicinally as an astringent. The flower is said to yield a volatile oil.

This plant is also an effective sand binder on coastal sand dunes and was so used by the Dept. of Forestry in the early 1900s before alien species were used instead. Lately, the threat to indigenous vegetation caused by these aliens has prompted a search for suitable indigenous species, so once again, Morella cordifolia is being used for dune stabilization.

Morella cordifolia was an important source of income in former times. In 1778 and again in 1846 the government of the day declared it a protected species; nevertheless, Dr Pappe noted in 1862 that the plants on the Cape Flats were still being destroyed.

In 1886 at the 'Colonial and Indian Exhibition' in London, samples of bessiewas (berry wax) were on display. In those days the wax cost 2-3¼ pence per pound in Cape Town, and 1 shilling per pound in Europe, later on it fetched £30-40 per pound in London.

In 1907 the seed was being harvested and sown to stabilize sand dunes, particularly on the Cape Flats. Today on the Cape Flats, the wax berry and other indigenous dune plants are smothered under alien invaders such as the rooikrans (Acacia cyclops) and the Port Jackson willow (Acacia saligna) or have been displaced by the ever-growing housing settlements and industrial developments.

Many of the other species of Morella and Myrica are used medicinally or for their wax. The leaves of Morella quercifolia, which can also be seen at Kirstenbosch, are used in an old Cape remedy for the relief of stomachache.