Lindera benzoin
Copyright, Mark Brand, UConn Plant Database
Lindera benzoin
Copyright, Mark Brand, UConn Plant Database
Spicebush is a small
shrub
that rarely grows over six feet tall. It is found in moist
woods and marshes. It has dark green,
oval-shaped leaves with smooth edges. The leaves turn yellow
in the Fall. They also have a pleasant fragrance when they
are crushed. Leaves grow up to five inches long. Like most shrubs,
Spicebush has many trunks. The flowers of this plant
are small and pale yellow in color. They bloom in March and
April. The fruits of Spicebush
are shiny red berries called drupes.
Birds, including American Robin, Northern Bobwhite, Gray
Catbird, Eastern Kingbird, and Great Crested Flycatcher, eat
the drupes. Raccoons and Virginia Opossums eat them
too. Copyright, Rainer
Oberle Virginia Tech Dan Skean Erv Evans, North Carolina
State University Spicebush is often an
understory
plant, meaning it grow under larger shrubs and trees in
forests.
It is almost alway found underneath Yellow
Poplar. Some other plants it is
often found with include Highbush Blueberry and
Elderberry. Copyright, Mark Brand,
UConn Plant Database Copyright, Mark Brand,
UConn Plant Database This plant is an
important host
plant to butterflies in the swallowtail family, especially
the Spicebush Swallowtail and the Eastern Tiger
Swallowtail. White-tailed Deer often
eat the leaves and twigs
of this plant. Several fungi
grow among the roots
of Spicebush, exchanging nutrients
with the shrub. Spicebush is one of the
first shrubs to flower each Spring.
Spicebush makes good cover for small animals like rabbits, chipmunks, and squirrels.
Relationships in Nature:
Animals
Using as Food Source Animals
Using as Shelter Associations
With Other Plants Spicebush Swallowtail Gray Catbird Gray Catbird Eastern Kingbird
Relationship to Humans:
Some people make a tea from the leaves and twigs of Spicebush. Fruits are also turned into a powder to make a spice.