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. 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 {{cvt|8|cm}} wide.{{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 {{cvt|6|cm}} long for a potential flower width of {{cvt|12|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 endemic to California, and found throughout much of the state from as far north as the Klamath Mountains and as far south as the San Joaquin Valley.{{Cite web |title=Calycanthus occidentalis |url=https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=16812 |access-date=2025-05-18 |website=ucjeps.berkeley.edu}} Past collections in Washington have been found to have escaped cultivation, and are not naturally occurring.{{Cite web |title=Washington Flora Checklist: Calycanthus occidentalis |url=https://burkeherbarium.org/waflora/checklist.php?Taxon=Calycanthus%20occidentalis&ID=62290&Category=Excluded |access-date=2025-05-18 |website=burkeherbarium.org}} 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}}

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Category:Calycanthaceae

Category:Flora of California

Category:Flora of Washington (state)

Category:Plants described in 1839