Lindera benzoin aka Northern Spicebush

Spicebush, Lindera benzoin, is a deciduous shrub in the laurel family, Lauraceae. It grows wild from southeastern Canada through the central and eastern United States. Its range runs from Ontario and Maine southwest to Kansas. It also reaches south to Texas and Florida. In the wild it favours bottomlands, ravines, valleys, swamps and stream banks. Other common names include Benjamin bush, fever bush and wild allspice.

In gardens it forms a broad, rounded shrub about 6 to 12 feet (2 to 3.7 m) tall. It spreads about as wide as it grows tall. Some plants reach 15 feet (4.6 m), though this is less usual. It often grows as a clump of several stems and puts on new growth slowly. The slender twigs are olive-green to brown and dotted with pale lenticels. Broken twigs give off a spicy, peppery smell. The leaves are simple, alternate and obovate, with smooth edges. They run from about 3 to 5 inches long and smell spicy when crushed. In autumn they turn a clear yellow to golden yellow.

Tiny greenish-yellow flowers open in small clusters along bare branches in March and April. They have no petals but carry a pleasant scent. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants, and the male flowers make the better show. Female plants set fruit only when a male grows nearby. The fruit is a glossy scarlet drupe about half an inch (1 cm) long. It ripens from late summer into autumn. Leaves hide much of the crop until they fall. Named forms exist, including the male 'Rubra' and the orange-fruited 'Xanthocarpa'.

Spicebush suits USDA zones 4 to 9 and rates H6 in the UK. It does best in moist, well-drained soil in partial shade. It accepts clay, loam and sand, and copes with soil that is wet at times. In full sun it grows denser and colours better in autumn, but it needs steady moisture. In deep shade the shape becomes looser and more open. It tolerates deer, black walnut and short dry spells. It moves poorly from field nurseries, so container plants establish more easily.

Gardeners use spicebush in shrub borders, woodland and shade gardens, rain gardens and native plantings. It also works as an informal hedge or beside ponds and streams. It is a key larval host for the spicebush swallowtail and the Palamedes swallowtail butterflies. Songbirds eat the fruit, above all during autumn migration. Pollinators visit the early flowers, and deer sometimes browse the twigs.

The shrub has no serious pest or disease problems. It is, however, susceptible to laurel wilt. The young leaves, twigs and fruit contain an aromatic oil and make a fragrant tea. Native Americans dried and ground the fruit as a substitute for allspice. The leaves can also flavour food, and the fresh bark is pleasant to chew. Herbal tradition used the bark for colds and coughs. Oils from the leaves, twigs and fruit have scented sachets and served as a mild insect repellent. Sources list no known hazards.