Eco-Friendly Native Plant of the Month

MARCH 2017 NC NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY REEDY CREEK NATURE PRESERVE Photos by Will Stuart and Lisa Tompkins

Lindera benzoin Spicebush Install a butterfly catbirds, red-eyed vireo and eastern spicy scent—much more subtle than kingbirds. a bright yellow Forsythia. factory in your yard As an understory plant, Spicebush is It seems so simple, and Gil Nelson Where are my berries? Just like the Hollies, Spicebush is commonly found in wet or soggy, author of Best Native Plants for Southern partly shady areas throughout the Gardens, puts it plainly, “Spicebush is dioecious, meaning separate plants have the male and female flowers. It Southeast. However, it can adapt to a must-have shrub for butterfly drier locations with more shade. enthusiasts who want to attract is a good idea to have several Spicebush plants in your garden to The shape of a Spicebush shrub is spicebush swallowtails to their open and upwardly spreading, gardens.” The distinctive caterpillars, insure pollination and fruit set. These small oval shaped red reaching 12 to 15 feet tall. It works with the large well in a mixed border, naturalized fake eyes at the b e r r i e s s t a n d o u t Be a green mulch leader against the golden glow informally in the woodland garden h e a d o f t e n or as a specimen plant. It is an easy intimidate …the upright shape of of the leaves in fall. Spicebush makes it a good plant to find and also easy to grow. predators. companion for underplanting Landscape Scratch the stems or crush the leaves Spicebush w i l d fl o w e r s , s u c h a s Uses to release the spicy smell. And, like benefits go far Atamasco Lily, Blue Phlox, Spicebush is one of many native shrubs, there is a history b e y o n d Mayapple and Trillium. those plants that of tea made from the buds, leaves providing food announces Spring. and flowers, and the dried seeds have for swallowtail Typically blooming in been used like allspice. It may be this butterfly larva (aka early March, the tiny scent that deer find unpalatable caterpillars). The red fall berries are blooms clinging tightly along the about Spicebush. Always a bonus. thought to be so tasty to birds, they stems in small bunches are delightful. For more Eco and Bird Friendly pages visit: don’t last long upon ripening. These The delicate light yellow blossoms ncwildflower.org berries are eaten by at least 24 pull you into the garden for a closer ncnpssouthernpiedmont.wordpress.com species of birds including thrushes, visit and will reward you with their ©2017 North Carolina Native Plant Society