Lindera benzoin – Spicebush

One of the Catskill’s earliest shrubs to flower, Spicebush brightens streamsides and swamp edges with yellow, nectar-rich flower clusters. Forsythia it’s not, but forsythia has no redeeming attributes after flowering while Spicebush becomes an important food source for wildlife. Spicebush swallowtail and promethea silkmoth caterpillars feed on the foliage – their only other host is Sassafras. It also supports the caterpillars of the cynthai moth, eastern tiger swallowtail, imperial moth and the tulip tree beauty moth. In the fall, red berries mature just in time to feed birds migrating south for the winter. Spicebush is dioecious – there are separate male and female plants – you’ll need both in order to get berries. Some of our plants are sexed – check for labels. Others are too young to have flowered and are unsexed – plant a few to insure you get both sexes.