Calycanthus occidentalis, commonly called spice bush or western sweetshrub,[3] is a species of flowering shrub in the family Calycanthaceae that is native to California and Washington state. It grows along streams and moist canyons in the foothills of mountains.[4]
Description
Calycanthus occidentalis is a deciduous shrub that can reach a height of 4 m (13 ft). Its leaves are opposite, and grow to about 5–15 cm (2–6 in) long and 2–8 cm (0.8–3.1 in) wide. They are more-or-less ovate with acute tips, a rounded base. The flowers appear from late spring to early fall. The flowers do not have distinctive sepals and petals, but have swirls of dark red to burgundy colored petal-like structures called tepals, 2–6 cm (0.8–2.4 in) long and 0.5–1 cm (0.2–0.4 in) wide. The flowers open to about 5 cm (2 in) wide. The tepals enclose about 10–15 stamens.[5][6] The flowers are pollinated by beetles of the family Nitidulidae.[7]
Distribution and habitat
Calycanthus occidentalis is native to California and Washington.[2][3][5] It grows along streams and on moist canyon slopes at elevations of 200–1,600 m (700–5,200 ft).[5]
^ abUSDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Calycanthus occidentalis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
^ abcJohnson, George P. "Calycanthus occidentalis". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America (online). eFloras.org. Retrieved 18 March 2021.