Spicebush is a fairly common large shrub (sometimes a small tree) of streamsides and bottomlands with very aromatic leaves. The pale flower buds are distinctively ball-shaped. The leaves are eaten by caterpillars of the Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus).
The flowers are small and yellowish.
Bath Co., VA 4/19/05.
The bright red fruits mature in September. The name of the plant comes from these drupes, which have been used as a substitute for allspice.
The bark is speckled with pale lenticels.
The variety found in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain is Hairy Northern Spicebush, var. pubescens, which has somewhat hairy undersides (at least on the midrib) and young twigs. In the Mountain region, the common variety is var. benzoin, which is hairless. The hairs on pubescens may require a hand lens to see.
