Eastern Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus)

Plantae>Magnoliophyta>Magnoliopsida>Laurales>Calycanthaceae>Calycanthus floridus L.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus) flower

This is an uncommon shrub with distinctive, fragrant flowers (produced from mid-April to mid-May), spicy-smelling (when crushed) leaves, and oddly-shaped fruit. Depending on the region, this shrub may be called Sweet Betsy (what my grandmother called it), Sweet Bubby or Sweet Bubby Bush, or Carolina Allspice.

McDowell Co., NC 4/16/2011.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus) leaf

There are two varieties in NC, var. floridus (with pubescent leaf undersides, petioles, and twigs) and var. glaucus (Willdenow) Torrey & A. Gray (glabrous or sparsely pubescent). The photo at left shows an example of var. glaucus from the western Piedmont. In NC, var. glaucus is much more common, generally occuring at higher elevations and further north/west than var. floridus.

McDowell Co., NC 4/16/2011.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus) flower

Flower of var. glaucus.

Clay Co., NC 5/19/07.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus) flower

Flower of var. glaucus.

Haywood Co. NC 5/9/08.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus) leaf

Leaf undersides of var. glaucus. Leaves are not always glaucous beneath.

Haywood Co. NC 5/9/08.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus) branch

Branch of var. glaucus.

Haywood Co. NC 5/9/08.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus)

Haywood Co., NC 6/13/2009.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus)

Haywood Co., NC 6/13/2009.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus) fruit

Ripening fruit.

Planted specimen, Chapel Hill, NC 5/25/2009.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus)

Sweet Betsy is most common in the southwestern third of North Carolina, rare in the Coastal Plain.

A wild var. glaucus with a very whitish leaf underside.

Clay Co., NC 5/14/05.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus)

Leaf undersides of var. glaucus.

Clay Co., NC 5/19/07.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus)

Planted specimen, Chapel Hill, NC 4/13/02.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus)

Planted specimen, Chapel Hill, NC 4/13/03.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus) Athens

This mutant with yellow flowers is the cultivar Calycanthus floridus 'Athens'.

Planted specimen, Chapel Hill, NC 4/7/02.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus)

Bizarrely-shaped hard seed pods are produced in summer. Wild plant of var. glaucus.

Guilford Co., NC 7/31/04.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus)

A leftover seed pod of var. glaucus from last year, with flowers and a developing seed pod.

Clay Co., NC 5/22/05.

Sweetshrub, Sweet Betsy, Sweet Bubby Bush (Calycanthus floridus) bark

Bark detail.

Clay Co., NC 5/19/07.