If you ’re out on a forest trail this month , keep an eye out for the clouds of yellow created byLindera benzoin — our aboriginal spicebush — a deciduous shrub whose greenish - yellow blooms come out in March in Virginia . genus Lindera benzoinis remarkable not only for its spring and spill colour , but also for its adaptability . It is not fussy about either stain moisture grade nor about pH nor about light source . In nature , it is most often witness along streams , in floodplains and ravine , but also in dryer upland timber , and is wide distributed throughout eastern North America and in Virginia . Indeed , the Virginia Native Plant Society namedLindera benzointhe native plant life of the twelvemonth in 2006 . I extremely recommend the essay that accompanied that award , VNPS Wildflower of the Year : Spicebush ( Lindera benzoin ) .
Ecologists refer to spicebush as afacultative wetlandplant , which means it usually occurs in wetlands ( estimated chance 67 % – 99 % ) , but occasionally found in non - wetlands . It is more abundant in soils that are slimly alkaline . You will seldom see this aboriginal bush in home garden , but it deserves consideration . It is somewhat easy to uprise , tolerates both caustic and alkaline grime , and can tolerate a wide-cut range of wet conditions , including
woodyplants.cals.cornell.edu/plant/325
Spicebush is a rounded shrub of 4′ to 12 ‘ high and equal bedcover . Its simple , eliptical green leaves emerge much later than its spring blossom , and become a showy golden yellow in autumn . If you ’re marvel whether you ’ve come upon a Benjamin bush , crush some leaves or twigs , which bring on a pleasant , spicy bouquet . The essential oil contain in the leaves , branchlet , bark , and berries was traditionally used in kinfolk music and as a second-stringer for Pimenta dioica . The flowers on the female industrial plant finally grow into green stone fruit that get on into bright cherry-red berries in fall . Because this works is dioecious , both manful and female plants must be stuffy enought to permit cross pollination to make the Chuck Berry . The attractive berries are hide out beneath the leaves , but are more seeable after the leaves strike down . Happily , disease and insect are not usually a problem . Some office weigh it cervid - resistant while others say it is sometimes browsed by deer .
Attracts birds and butterflies
If you are look for plant that pull birds and butterfly , you may need to try spicebush . The fruits of California allspice pull in many bird ( vireos , tanager , robins , thrush ) and its flower attract aboriginal bee and pollinator . Va. Coop . Ext . Pub . HORT-59 - NP .
Linderais a emcee plant for the spicebush morning coat butterfly . whose larvae feed on it and other member of the Lauracaea fellowship , which includes another local aboriginal , sassafras Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ( Sassafras albidum ) . You ’ll see peck of information about the spicebush swallowtail atUniv . Fla. Entemology / spicebushswallowtail .
Sources for Spicebush flora and its cultivars
If you ’re quick to try planting spicebush , you may find it for sales event in this surface area .
It ’s deserving notice that there are a fewcultivars ofLindera benzoin :
‘ Green Gold ’ – A non - fruiting form with very declamatory , ornamental chickenhearted blooms .
‘ Rubra ’ ( also known as f. rubra ) – a non - fruiting shape with cherry-red - brown blooms .
‘ Xanthocarpa ’ ( also known as f. xanthocarpa ) – discovered at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston , this unique form has orange - yellowish fruit .
The cultivars are not wide available , but the coinage is usable in local aboriginal plant greenhouse and online informant . For a complete tilt of native plant life nursery in our area , see the list maintained by the Virginia Native Plant Society , VaNativePlantSociety / NurseriesList .
How to acquire
Because it ’s so adaptable , you could institute spicebush in either alkaline or acid soil , or in full sun to shade , or in site that are anywhere from occasionally wet to occasionally dry . The idealistic site , however , would be a web site in partial nuance with loamy , well - drained territory that is only occasionally besotted or teetotal , and is in the pH range of 5.0 to 8.0 .
According to some sureness , spicebush does not transplant easily , but a horticulture friend of mine has had winner with transplanting the wild 1 on her property into moist expanse . In any case , the container - turn plants from nurseries should establish readily . It can also be farm from seminal fluid , and quite well .
How to useLindera benzoinin the landscape
Spicebush is ideal for realistic plantings , shrub margin , woodland garden , and for aggregate planting along flow and pond . fond refinement is good , but for maximal fall vividness and berries , and for the nicest shape , be sure your site gets some sun . Remember that if you want berries , be sure to have both manly and female plant .
If you ’re creating a rain garden , Lindera benzoinwould be an obvious selection if you want to include a bush . Va. Coop . Ext/ Rain Garden Plants . It can also be helpful in erosion control and riparian buffer zones.www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage//riparian-nat-plants.pdf
beginning :
VA.TECH / Dendrology.factsheet / Lindera genus Benzoin
Va. NativePlantSociety / vnps.org / wildflowers - of - the - year/2006 - spicebush - genus Lindera - benjamin
vaplantatlas.org/
“ For the Birds , Butterflies and Hummingbirds : create ask for Habitats,”Va . Coop . Ext . Pub . HORT-59 - NP
NCStateExt./Lindera - benzoin
hort.uconn.edu/PlantDatabase/Lindera benzoin
www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/Lindera benzoin
Va. Native Plant Society tilt of aboriginal plant nurseries , vnps.org / VirginiaNativePlantNurseries
