Calycanthus occidentalis

{{Speciesbox

|image=Spice Bush (Calycanthus cidentalis) JCB.jpg

|image2=Spice Bush bud (Calycanthus cidentalis) JCB.jpg

|image2_caption=The flowers do not have distinct sepals and petals.

|genus=Calycanthus

|species=occidentalis

|authority=Hook. & Arn.

|synonyms=

{{Species list

|Butneria occidentalis|(Hook. & Arn.) Greene

|Calycanthus macrophyllus|K.Koch

}}

|synonyms_ref =

| status = G3

| status_system = TNC

| status_ref = {{cite web | url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.136958 | title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 }}

}}

Calycanthus occidentalis, commonly called spice bush or western sweetshrub, 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.{{cite web | title=Spice Bush, Calycanthus occidentalis | website=Calscape | url=https://calscape.org/Calycanthus-occidentalis-(Spice-Bush) | access-date=2024-02-26}}

Description

Calycanthus occidentalis is a deciduous shrub that can reach a height of {{cvt|4|m|ft|0}}. Its leaves are opposite, and grow to about {{cvt|5|-|15|cm|in|0}} long and {{cvt|2|-|8|cm|in|1}} 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, {{cvt|2|-|6|cm|in|1}} long and {{cvt|0.5|-|1|cm|in|1}} wide. The flowers open to about {{cvt|5|cm|in|0}} wide, but can occasionally reach three inches (eight cm) in width.{{cite book | last1= Turner | first1= R.J. Jr. | last2= Wasson | first2= Ernie | date= 1999 | title= Botanica | location= not given | publisher= Barnes & Noble | page= 175 | isbn= 0760716420 }} According to Munz and Keck, the tepals can be up to six cm {2.5 inches) in length for a potential flower width of five inches (twelve cm).{{cite book | last1= Munz | first1= Philip A. | last2= Keck | first2= David D. | date= 1959 | title= A California Flora | location= Berkeley, Calif. | publisher= Univ. of Calif. Press | page= 77 }} The tepals enclose about 10–15 stamens. The flowers are pollinated by beetles of the family Nitidulidae.

Cytology

The chromosome count is 2n= 22. Munz and Keck loc.cit.

Distribution and habitat

Calycanthus occidentalis is native to California and Washington. It grows along streams and on moist canyon slopes at elevations of {{cvt|200|-|1600|m|ft|-2}}.

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite book |first1=George P. |last1=Johnson |contribution=Calycanthus occidentalis |contribution-url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500303 |access-date=2021-03-18 |name-list-style=amp |editor-last=Flora of North America Editorial Committee |title=Flora of North America (online) |publisher=eFloras.org }}

{{Citation |mode=cs1 |last1=Gottsberger |first1=Gerhard |last2=Gottsberger |first2=Brigitte |last3=Silberbauer-Gottsberger |first3=Ilse |last4=Stanojlovic |first4=Vesna |last5=Cabrele |first5=Chiara |last6=Dötterl |first6=Stefan |date=2021 |title=Imitation of fermenting fruits in beetle-pollinated Calycanthus occidentalis (Calycanthaceae) |journal=Flora |volume=274 |at=151732 |doi=10.1016/j.flora.2020.151732 |name-list-style=amp |doi-access= |bibcode=2021FMDFE.27451732G }}

{{Cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=George P. |last2=Fosiée |first2=Tahbaz |title=Calycanthus occidentalis Sweet-shrub, Spicebush |website=Jepson eFlora |publisher=The Jepson Herbarium, University of California, Berkeley |url=https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=16812 |access-date=10 February 2021 }}

{{cite web |title=Calycanthus occidentalis Hook. & Arn. |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:139230-1 |access-date=2021-03-18 }}

{{PLANTS|id=CAOC5|taxon=Calycanthus occidentalis|accessdate=16 December 2019}}

}}

Category:Calycanthaceae

Category:Flora of California

Category:Flora of Washington (state)

Category:Plants described in 1839