Deciduous Shrub (fast-growing)
Sun: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
Height: 6’–12’
Bloom: Yellow
Fruit: Glossy red (if both male and female plants are present)
Bloom Time: April
Soil Moisture: Medium, Moist, Wet
Soil Type: Moist, sandy, well-drained soils.
Attracts: Butterflies, pollinators, birds
Pollinator Benefit: Larval Host for Spice Bush Swallowtail and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Supports 18 Native Species
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is the host plant for the Spice Bush Swallowtail and the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. It is a single- or few-stemmed, deciduous shrub, 6-12 ft. tall, with glossy leaves and graceful, slender, light green branches. Dense clusters of tiny, pale yellow flowers bloom before the leaves from globose buds along the twigs. Flowers occur in umbel-like clusters and are followed by glossy red fruit if both male and female plants are in proximity. Both the fruit and foliage are aromatic.
Leaves turn a colorful golden-yellow in fall.
In the North, this plant is known as the “forsythia of the wilds” because its early spring flowering gives many lowland woods where it is common a subtle yellow tinge. The aromatic leaves and twigs can be made into a tea.
Note: There is no way to tell the sex of the Spicebush by looking at it, but all of them support Swallowtails!
info from www.wildflower.org