North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Calycanthus floridus

Calycanthus floridus L.

sweet-shrub, carolina allspice, strawberry-shrub, sweet bubby-bush

Cultivar(s): Athens, Michael Lindsey, White Flower form

Image ID: 12862
Image by: Cressler, Alan M.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: CAFL22
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Calycanthus floridus
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-01-09

CULTIVAR INDEX

Cult_id	Cultivar_name	Action
201	Athens	View
1205	Michael Lindsey	View
3	White Flower form	View

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: CALYC5
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Calycanthus
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Sweetshrub
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of 2-4 species, 2 (or 1) of e. North America, 1 of w. North America, and 1 of China (the latter sometimes segregated as a separate genus, Sinocalycanthus).
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Johnson in FNA (1997); Kubitzki in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993); Nicely (1965)=Z; Ferry & Ferry (1987)=Y.

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: CALYCA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Calycanthaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Lindley 1819
FAMILY COMMON: Sweet-shrub Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of 4 genera and about 8 species, shrubs and trees, of temperate e. China, temperate e. North America, temperate w. North America, and tropical ne. Australia.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Nicely (1965); Wood (1958); Li et al. (2004); Kubitzki in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 4-6 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Shrub

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Opposite
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Apr-May

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
	x	x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
	x

FRUITING PERIOD: Aug-Sep.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: eastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: This southeastern native shrub produces fragrant reddish-brown flowers in late spring. Try planting smooth sweetshrub as part of a shrub border near your house so you can enjoy the strawberry- pineapple fragrance of its flowers. Its foliage turns bright yellow in the fall. The Cherokee Indians used the root and bark to treat kidney ailments. By lightly pruning after flowering, you can keep smooth sweetshrub more compact.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 4
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE: 2
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
203	HORT	2011-01-24	Poythress	View
1162	HORT	2006-10-01	Bryan	View
1740	HORT	2005-01-01	Bryan	View
1838	HORT	2006-10-01	Bryan	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
204	2011-0016	2011-01-25	203	View
797	1985-0456			View
2263	1986-2088			View
2768	1987-0263			View
3087	1989-0041			View
4852	1994-0061			View
5975	1995-1106			View
6821	1998-0026			View
7084	1999-0034	1999-08-06		View
7225	1999-0189	1999-12-01		View
8059	2004-0067	2004-09-09		View
8290	2005-0007	2005-03-12		View
8873	2011-0096	2011-05-04	0	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
415	204	32	Poythress	2011-03-03	View
982	8873	36	Randall	2011-04-19	View
1518	797	166	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
3931	2263	94	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
4602	2768	8	NCBG staff	1983-06-02	View
5127	3087	241	NCBG staff	2001-05-09	View
7254	4852	27	NCBG staff	1994-06-06	View
8566	5975	2	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
8567	5975	2	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
9653	6821	166	NCBG staff	1997-10-21	View
9654	6821	83	NCBG staff	1997-10-21	View
10012	7084	174	NCBG staff	1999-04-14	View
10174	7225	119	NCBG staff	1999-05-01	View
11325	8059	27	NCBG staff	2003-07-17	View
11572	8290	205	NCBG staff	2005-04-01	View
12231	8290	43	Liloia	2011-03-18	View
13095	0	18	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13842	0	70	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13844	0	77	Liloia	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: CAFL22
USDA Common Name: Eastern Sweetshrub
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, KY, LA, MA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Shrub

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACU				FACU			FACU	FACU

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Calycanthus floridus
COMMON NAME: Sweet-shrub, Strawberry-shrub, Carolina Allspice, Sweet Bubby-bush
SYNONYMY: [= Il, Va; > C. floridus Linnaeus var. floridus - Fl, FNA, GW, K, Pa, RAB, WH3, Y, Z; > C. floridus Linnaeus var. glaucus (Willdenow) Torrey & A. Gray - C, Fl, FNA, K, WH3, Y; > C. floridus var. laevigatus (Willdenow) Torrey & A. Gray - GW, Pa, RAB, Z; > C. floridus - F; > C. fertilis Walter - F, G; > C. floridus - S; > C. mohrii Small - S; > C. fertilis - S; > C. nanus Loiseleur - S; > C. floridus var. oblongifolius (Nuttall) Boufford & Spongberg]
PHENOLOGY: Apr-May; Aug-Sep.
HABITAT: Forested slopes and streambanks.
COMMENTS: PA, WV, and KY, south to GA, nw. FL, AL, and s. MS. Two varieties have traditionally been recognized, var. floridus with pubescent twigs, petioles, and leaf undersurfaces, and var. glaucus with glabrous (or sparsely pubescent) twigs, petioles, and leaf undersurfaces. They have broadly overlapping distributions and variable characters and seem best considered as taxonomically uninformative variation. The outer edges of the natural original distribution are somewhat unclear, because of extensive cultivation for centuries.
RANGE MAP: Calycanthus floridus.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Calycanthaceae Lindley 1819 (Sweet-shrub Family)
SUMMARY: A family of 4 genera and about 8 species, shrubs and trees, of temperate e. China, temperate e. North America, temperate w. North America, and tropical ne. Australia.
REFERENCE: Nicely (1965); Wood (1958); Li et al. (2004); Kubitzki in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Calycanthus L. (Sweetshrub)
SUMMARY: A genus of 2-4 species, 2 (or 1) of e. North America, 1 of w. North America, and 1 of China (the latter sometimes segregated as a separate genus, Sinocalycanthus).
REFERENCE: Johnson in FNA (1997); Kubitzki in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993); Nicely (1965)=Z; Ferry & Ferry (1987)=Y.

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Calycanthus floridus in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Calycanthus floridus in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Calycanthus floridus in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Calycanthus floridus in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Calycanthus floridus in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Calycanthus floridus

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 12862 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 12862 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 7449 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 22693 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)