Spicebush                        lin-DER-a BEN-zo-in

• Deciduous, aromatic shrub, to about 6-12 ft (2-4 m) tall, similar width, rounded.  Twigs, and nearly all plant parts, release a strong pleasant odor when crushed.  Leaves alternate, simple, obovate, 6-15 x 2-8 cm, thin, acuminate tip, gradual wedge-shaped base, margin ciliate, bright green above, yellow-green to golden yellow in fall, very aromatic.  Male and female flowers, pale yellow-green, in small clusters.  Fruit ellipsoid, 1 cm long, scarlet.
• Sun or part shade, dense and full in full sun but loose, open in shade.  Best in moist, well-drained soil.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 4  Native from Ontario and Maine, southwest to Kansas and south to Texas and Florida.
• benzoin: from a vernacular Arabic word meaning aromatic gum.
• Oregon State Univ. campus: along the west side of the medicinal garden behind Pharmacy.