Spicebush

Description

Botanical Name:  Lindera benzoin

Common Name:  Northern Spicebush, Spicebush, Wild Allspice

Description:  Single- or few-stemmed, deciduous shrub, 6-12 ft. tall, with glossy leaves and graceful, slender, light green branches.  Dense clusters of tiny, pale yellow flowers bloom before the leaves along the twigs. Flowers are followed by glossy red fruit. Both the fruit and foliage are fragrant. Leaves turn a colorful golden-yellow in fall. Is also called the “forsythia of the wilds” because its early spring flowering gives a yellow tinge to lowland woods where it grows. A tea can be made from the aromatic leaves and twigs. Texas native. Fast growing, great in part sun to part shade areas. Host plant to Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Spicebush Swallowtail. Attracts birds.

This plant in 1-gallon containers is 1-2′ tall and wide.

Fun Fact:  Genus name honors Johann Linder (1676-1723), a Swedish botanist and physician. Specific epithet comes from the Arabic vernacular word meaning aromatic gum.