Calycanthus occidentalis

• Winter deciduous shrub growing 3.3 – 13.1 feet tall and wide
• Bright green leaves 2.0 – 5.9 inches long and 0.79 – 2.36 inches broad
• The bark has a strong camphor smell that is released when stems are scraped
• Flowers lack distinct sepals and petals. but have distinct spirals of tepals
• Strongly scented flowers composed of numerous dark red to burgundy to purplish brown tepals are produced from late spring through early autumn
• Pollinated by beetles in the Nitidulidae family.
• The fruit is an elliptic dry capsule 2 to 2.75 inches long, containing numerous seeds.
• Tolerates low, moderate and high moisture conditions
• Tolerates slow drainage and variety of soils
• Attract butterflies and moths
• Found in canyons, stream sides and moist places, at elevations from 0 – 5000 feet

Photo (c) James Gaither – some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND)