Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Laurales > Lauraceae > Lindera > Lindera benzoin

Lindera benzoin (northern spicebush; spicebush)

Synonyms:

Wikipedia Abstract

Lindera benzoin, commonly called spicebush, common spicebush, northern spicebush wild allspice, or Benjamin bush) is a shrub in the laurel family, native to eastern North America, ranging from New York to Ontario in the north, and to Kansas, Texas, and northern Florida in the center and south. Within its native range it is a relatively common plant where it grows in the understory in moist, rich woods, especially those with exposed limestone.
View Wikipedia Record: Lindera benzoin

Infraspecies

Lindera benzoin f. rubra
Lindera benzoin var. pubescens

Attributes

Bloom Period [1]  Mid Spring
Drought Tolerance [1]  Low
Edible [2]  May be edible. See the Plants For A Future link below for details.
Flower Type [2]  Dioecious
Frost Free Days [1]  4 months
Fruit/Seed Abundance [1]  Low
Fruit/Seed Begin [1]  Summer
Fruit/Seed End [1]  Fall
Growth Form [1]  Multiple Stem
Growth Period [1]  Spring, Summer
Growth Rate [1]  Slow
Leaf Type [2]  Deciduous
Lifespan [1]  Perennial
Propagation [1]  Bare Root, Container, Seed
Root Depth [1]  18 inches (46 cm)
Scent [2]  A spice-scented oil resembling camphor is obtained from the fruit.
Seed Spread Rate [1]  Slow
Seed Vigor [1]  Medium
Seeds Per [1]  4500 / lb (9921 / kg)
Shape/Orientation [1]  Erect
Structure [2]  Shrub
Usage [2]  The leaves contain small quantities of camphor and can be used as an insect repellent and disinfectant; An oil with a lavender-like fragrance is obtained from the leaves; The fruit, upon distillation, yield a spice-scented oil resembling camphor; An oil smelling of wintergreen is obtained from the twigs and bark;
Vegetative Spread Rate [1]  None
Flower Color [1]  White
Foliage Color [1]  Green
Fruit Color [1]  Red
Flower Conspicuous [1]  Yes
Height [2]  9.84 feet (3 m)
Width [2]  9.84 feet (3 m)
Hardiness Zone Minimum [1]  USDA Zone: 4 Low Temperature: -30 F° (-34.4 C°) → -20 F° (-28.9 C°)
Light Preference [1]  Mixed Sun/Shade
Soil Acidity [1]  Mostly Acid
Soil Fertility [1]  Very Rich
Water Use [1]  Moderate
Screening - Summer [1]  Moderate
Screening - Winter [1]  Porous
View Plants For A Future Record : Lindera benzoin

Protected Areas

Ecosystems

Predators

Consumers

External References

USDA Plant Profile

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1USDA Plants Database, U. S. Department of Agriculture
♦ 2Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 3Ben-Dov, Y., Miller, D.R. & Gibson, G.A.P. ScaleNet 4 November 2009
♦ 4Study of Northern Virginia Ecology
♦ 5HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández
♦ 6Sylvilagus aquaticus, Joseph A. Chapman and George A. Feldhamer, Mammalian Species No. 151, pp. 1-4 (1981)
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0