OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Magnoliids: Laurales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Calycanthus floridus   FAMILY Calycanthaceae   Go to FSUS key



INCLUDING PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Calycanthus floridus var. glaucus   FAMILY Calycanthaceae

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Calycanthus brockianus

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Calycanthus floridus

INCLUDING (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Calycanthus brockiana

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Calycanthus floridus var. floridus

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Calycanthus floridus var. glaucus

INCLUDING Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3 (1997)

Calycanthus floridus var. floridus

INCLUDING Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3 (1997)

Calycanthus floridus var. glaucus

INCLUDING Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)

Calycanthus floridus var. floridus

INCLUDING Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)

Calycanthus floridus var. laevigatus

INCLUDING VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 083-01-001b:

Calycanthus floridus var. laevigatus   FAMILY Calycanthaceae

INCLUDING Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968)

Calycanthus floridus var. floridus

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Calycanthus fertilis

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Calycanthus floridus

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Calycanthus mohrii

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Calycanthus nanus

 

COMMON NAME:
Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_cafe5_001_lvd

        

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

JK Marlow    jkm240312_7737

March    Greenville County    SC

The dark brown twigs have swollen nodes, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

Ron Lance    rwl_calycanthus_floridus

March    Jackson County    NC

Big Ridge Preserve

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

JK Marlow    jkm0504q_24

April    Pickens County    SC

Table Rock State Park

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

JK Marlow    jkm070421_025

April    Greenville County    SC

Camp Spearhead

Fruit an ovoid leathery pendant capsule (woodland rodents mine its seeds), per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989).

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

JK Marlow    jkm120415_026

April    Pickens County    SC

Clemson Forest

Perianth undifferentiated, segments maroon, often with lighter tips, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

JK Marlow    jkm120424_634

April    Pickens County    SC

Jocassee Gorges

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

JK Marlow    jkm160423_477

April    Sevier County    TN

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

Keith Bradley    kab_c_floridus_03188

April    Polk County    NC

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_c_floridus_rw_42205_2

April        

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_c_floridus_sweetshrub

April        

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

Ben Geer Keys    bgk236_a

April-May        

Flowers somewhat urn-shaped and solitary on short leafy branches, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

Gill Newberry    gn05_c_floridus_fruits

May        

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

JK Marlow    jkm0405b_10

May    Rutherford County    NC

Chimney Rock Park

Leaves lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, margins entire, acuminate, petiolate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

JK Marlow    jkm0405h_22

May    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

Georgia Sweetshrub (C. brockianus) has yellowish-green flowers and may be only a color variation, per Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016).

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

JK Marlow    jkm140517_816

May    Transylvania County    NC

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

Ron Lance    rwl_cfloridus

May    Rutherford County    NC

The flowers are 1" or more broad and have a spicy fragrance, per Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition.

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

Ron Lance    rwl236_a

May        

The nectarless flowers have a strong fruity odor that attracts small beetles, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

JK Marlow    jkm140614_882

June    Rabun County    GA

Chattahoochee National Forest

Stem sparsely branched. Leaves opposite, oval to elliptic w tapering tips, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

JK Marlow    jkm160727_387

July    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

Fruit green in summer turning dark brown to black over winter, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

JK Marlow    jkm0310h_01

October    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

Georgia Sweetshrub is sold in nurseries as the cultivar 'Athens" and is especially fragrant, per Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016).

image of Calycanthus floridus, Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry-shrub

JK Marlow    jkm201113_8226

November    Greenville County    SC

Caesars Head State Park

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Calycanthus floridus   FAMILY Calycanthaceae

INCLUDING PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Calycanthus floridus var. glaucus   FAMILY Calycanthaceae

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Calycanthus brockianus

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Calycanthus floridus

INCLUDING (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Calycanthus brockiana

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Calycanthus floridus var. floridus

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Calycanthus floridus var. glaucus

INCLUDING Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3
Calycanthus floridus var. floridus

INCLUDING Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3
Calycanthus floridus var. glaucus

INCLUDING Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Calycanthus floridus var. floridus

INCLUDING Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Calycanthus floridus var. laevigatus

INCLUDING VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 083-01-001b:
Calycanthus floridus var. laevigatus   FAMILY Calycanthaceae

INCLUDING Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968)
Calycanthus floridus var. floridus

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Calycanthus fertilis

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Calycanthus floridus

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Calycanthus mohrii

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Calycanthus nanus

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

236

Shrub
Perennial

Habitat: Mesic to dry-mesic forests and streambanks; in the East Gulf Coastal plain in dry-mesic beech-magnolia bluff forests and lower slopes of sandhills, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common (uncommon in Coastal Plain of GA & SC) (rare in NC Coastal Plain)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Opposite

FLOWER:
Spring
Maroon
Radially symmetrical
Numerous tepals
Numerous stamens
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Pseudocarp

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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