Spicebush is a shrubby tree — five to ten feet-tall (and often wider than tall) — which has a great many attributes, beginning with its wonderfully spicy-citrusy aromatic foliage. The blooming period for Spicebush occurs during the mid-spring and lasts about 2 weeks. The males (yes, it is dioecious) have showier, but still tiny, pale yellow flowers along the still-leafless stems. But the females draw our attention in early fall when they’re loaded with berries that turn from green to bright, glossy red, attracting lots of birds. Spicebush prefers dappled sunlight to medium shade, but more sun makes for more flowers and more berries and more birds! About the time the berries are the brightest red, the leaves turn a soft yellow as a backdrop to those shiny, red berries. While attracting birds is delightful, this interesting native plant also attracts a magnificent butterfly, the Spicebush Swallowtail, which attaches its eggs to the leaves If you grow Spicebush in a sunny or partly shady corner of your property (moist to mesic conditions, and a fertile loamy soil with decaying organic matter), you will eventually find Swallowtail caterpillars hiding in neatly folded leaves. By clipping small notches in the foliage, the larvae can bend the leaves over to create a tiny hiding place in which to grow. The black, orange and blue Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly is the prize, a real treat in the garden!
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Lindera benzoin
Key Info
Scientific Name: Lidera benzoin (L.) Blume
Common Names: Spicebush, Wild Allspice, Northern Spicebush, Benjamin Bush
Family Names: Lauraceae (Laurel Family)
Plant Type: Tree / Shrub
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Bloom Times: Apr
Flower Color: Yellow
Special Characteristics: Tolerates shade, Flowers fragrant, Attracts butterflies, Good fall color, Attracts birds, Leaves fragrant, Rhizomatous
Additional Info
Habit: Spicebush has a broad, rounded habit, often is wider than tall. The central trunk (if present) and graceful branches are slender, the leafy texture dense. The woody roots are extensive, shallow and much branched.
Height: 6' to 12'
Spread: 6' to 12'
Soil Conditions: Moist to dry, well drained; prefers an alkaline pH; limestone-based, sandy, sandy loam, medium loam.
Leaves: Alternate leaves are produced on new branchlets. They are simple, up to 5" long and 2½" across, oval or broadest beyond the middle of the leaf. They have a smooth edge with no teeth and are dark green above and paler below.; brilliant yellow fall color.
Flowers (or reproductive structures: Spicebush is dioecious (male and female flowers on separate plants). Aromatic, greenish-yellow flower clusters appear along the branches in early spring before the foliage emerges. Individual flowers are less than ¼" across; each flower has 6 yellow petal-like sepals (but no petals). The male flowers have 9 stamens while the female flowers have an ovary with a single style and up to 18 pseudo-stamens. (Illinois Wildlfowers)
Fruit: Each fertile flower is replaced by a fleshy berry-like drupe, rich in lipids, to 1/2 inch long, with a single stone; this drupe becomes red when it is mature during the late summer or fall.
Natural Distribution: Bottomlands, ravines, valleys and along streams; moist, rich woods, especially those with exposed limestone,
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 to 9
USDA Wetland Indicator Status in NC: FAC (FACW on coast)
Pollination: Bees, butterflies, other insects.
Wildlife Connections: Larval host for Spicebush Swallowtail, Promethea Silkmoth, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail whose larvae are sustained by the leaves; White-tail deer, rabbits, opossums, and a variety of small rodents readily eat the aromatic leaves and woody parts of this plant; birds who feed on the berries: Bobwhites and Pheasants; Warblers, Vireos, Thrushes, Sparrows, Robins, Mockingbirds, Kingbirds, Flycatchers, Flickers, Catbirds and Cardinals.
Propagation: From seed.
Southeastern Native Plant Nursery and Landscaping
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