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common sweetshrub Calycanthaceae Calycanthus floridus L. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: CAFL22
Leaf: Opposite, simple, oval to elliptical, entire margins, 3 to 6 inches long, smooth dark green above, whitened and pubescent below.
Flower: Dark brownish red, 1 to 2 inches across, numerous sepals and petals, strong strawberry like odor, appearing May to July.
Fruit: Green turning to light brown, somewhat woody at maturity, bell-shaped "capsule", 1 to 1 1/2 inches long, borne on a stalk, matures in late summer early fall, persistent.
Twig: Moderate in texture, brown; swollen at the opposite, U-shaped leaf scars; fragrant when broken, faint ridges or lines often run down from nodes; buds round and hairy, no end bud.
Bark: Light brown, thin and lenticeled, fragrant.
Form: Dense, rounded shrub to 6 feet.
 Looks like: sweet shrub - fringetree - buttonbush - American beautyberry

common sweetshrub leaf image
common sweetshrub flower image
common sweetshrub fruit image
common sweetshrub twig image
common sweetshrub bark image
common sweetshrub form image
common sweetshrub map image

Additional Range Information: Calycanthus floridus is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Fall Color
External Links: USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information