Sweet Betsy, as it's more often called in North Carolina, is an uncommon shrub with distinctive, fragrant flowers (produced from mid-April to mid-May), spicy-smelling (when crushed) leaves, and oddly-shaped fruit.

There are two varieties in NC, var. floridus (with pubescent leaf undersides, petioles, and twigs) and var. glaucus (glabrous or sparsely pubescent). In NC, var. glaucus is much more common, generally occuring at higher elevations and further north/west than var. floridus.

Flower of var. glaucus.

Clay Co., NC 5/19/07.

Flower of var. glaucus.

Haywood Co. NC 5/9/08.

Leaf undersides of var. glaucus. Leaves are not always glaucous beneath.

Haywood Co. NC 5/9/08.

Branch of var. glaucus.

Haywood Co. NC 5/9/08.

Sweet Betsy is most common in the southwestern third of North Carolina, rare in the Coastal Plain.

A wild var. glaucus with a very whitish leaf underside.

Clay Co., NC 5/14/05.

Leaf undersides of var. glaucus.

Clay Co., NC 5/19/07.

Planted specimen, Chapel Hill, NC 4/13/02.

Planted specimen, Chapel Hill, NC 4/13/03.

This mutant with yellow flowers is the cultivar Calycanthus floridus 'Athens'.

Planted specimen, Chapel Hill, NC 4/7/02.

Bizarrely-shaped hard seed pods are produced in summer. Wild plant of var. glaucus.

Guilford Co., NC 7/31/04.

A leftover seed pod of var. glaucus from last year, with flowers and a developing seed pod.

Clay Co., NC 5/22/05.

Bark detail.

Clay Co., NC 5/19/07.