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Spice Bush
( Calycanthus occidentalis )
Calycanthus occidentalis
More Photos at CalPhotos
More Info at Jepson eFlora
Calflora
Click on blue squares to see occurrence records.
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)
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66 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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About Spice Bush (Calycanthus occidentalis)
66 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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Spice Bush (
Calycanthus occidentalis
) is a native shrub that grows in canyons, streamsides and moist places, at elevations from 0 to 5000 feet in the California Coast Ranges, Sacramento Valley, Sierra Nevada, and Cascades. Also found in Washington State, localized in the Seattle area.
This deciduous shrub has bright green leaves. Its bark has a strong camphor smell that is released when stems are scraped. The smell remains strong on twigs that have been stored several years in a dry environment.
The strongly scented flowers are produced from late spring through early autumn in dark red to burgundy to purplish brown. The lotus-shaped flowers can resemble a small magnolia flower. They are pollinated by beetles in the Nitidulidae family. They produce elliptic dry capsules 2 to 3 inches long, each containing numerous seeds.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Shrub
Size
3 - 13.1 ft tall
3 - 12 ft wide
Form
Rounded
Dormancy
Winter Deciduous
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant
Flower Color
Red, Purple, Brown
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer
Wildlife Supported
Sap beetles
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1
likely
* )
SHOW ALL
*
Oblique-Banded Leafroller Moth
Choristoneura rosaceana
Choristoneura rosaceana
Landscaping Information
Sun
Part Shade, Full Sun
Moisture
Low, Moderate - High
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / week once established
Nurseries
Carried by 66
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 0 - 10° F
Soil Drainage
Slow
Soil Description
Tolerates a white variety of soils. Soil PH: 5 - 8
Common uses
Hedges, Deer Resistant, Butterfly Gardens
Companion Plants
Carpenteria californica
(
Bush Anemone
),
Vitis californica
(
California Wild Grape
),
Umbellularia californica
(
California Bay
),
Carex praegracilis
(Clustered Field
Sedge
)
Propagation
?
For propagating by seed: 3 mos. stratification.
Sunset Zones
?
1, 2, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*
Natural Setting
Site Type
Moist places, canyons, streamsides
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 8.3" - 85.5", Summer Precipitation: 0.18" - 2.08", Coldest Month: 24.0" - 50.6", Hottest Month: 45.3" - 78.0", Humidity: 0.21" - 26.55", Elevation: 7" - 11310"
Alternative Names
Common Names
: Spicebush, Sweet-shrub, Western Sweetshrub
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Spice Bush
Calycanthus occidentalis
Sources include:
Wikipedia
. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the
California Consortia of Herbaria
, Sunset information provided by
Jepson Flora Project
. Propogation from seed information provided by the
Santa Barbara Botanical Garden
from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include
CalPhotos
,
Wikimedia Commons
, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include
Calflora
,
CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online
,
Jepson Flora Project
,
Las Pilitas
,
Theodore Payne
,
Tree of Life
,
The Xerces Society
, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from
PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University
, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.
Links:
Jepson eFlora Taxon Page
CalPhotos
Wikipedia
Calflora
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