Flora of North America species comparison

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Lindera melissifolia

Lindera

pondberry, southern spicebush

spicebush
Habit Shrubs or small trees, deciduous.
Bark

grayish, becoming darker with age.
Leaves

blade elliptic to ovate, 8-16 × 3-6 cm, membranous, base rounded to widely cuneate, margins ciliate, apex acute;

surfaces abaxially and adaxially pubescent.

blade pinnately veined, membranous to nearly leathery;

surfaces glabrous to densely pubescent;

domatia absent.
Inflorescences

appearing before leaves, axillary, clusters (pseudoumbels), clusters subsessile, nearly umbellate, each subtended by 2 pairs of decussate bracts.
Flowers

unisexual, staminate and pistillate on different plants, a few bisexual flowers on some plants;

tepals deciduous, yellow, pellucid-dotted, equal, glabrous.
Staminate flowers

stamens 9;

anthers 2-locular, 2-valved, introrse.
Pistillate flowers

staminodes variously developed;

ovary globose.
Drupe

nearly globose, ca. 12 mm; fruiting pedicels of previous season persistent on stem, stout, 9-12 mm, apex enlarged.

bright red, ellipsoid to nearly globose, borne on pedicel, with or without persistent tepals at base.
Low

shrubs, rarely over 1.5 m. Young twigs pubescent.

x

= 12.

Lindera melissifolia

Lindera
Phenology Flowering spring.
Habitat Low woods, depressions, pond and sink margins, Coastal Plain and Mississippi Embayment
Elevation 0-100 m (0-300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; GA; MO; MS; NC; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
North America; e Asia
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Lindera melissifolia has not been seen in Alabama, Florida, or Louisiana in over a century.

The orthographic variants "melissaefolia" and "melisaefolium" have sometimes been used.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Species ca. 100 (3 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf blade somewhat leathery, larger blades usually less than 8 × 4 cm, young leaves faintly aromatic when crushed, becoming essentially odorless with age.
L. subcoriacea
1. Leaf blade membranous, larger blades usually more than 8 × 4 cm, crushed leaves strongly aromatic throughout growing season.
→ 2
2. Leaves horizontal to mostly ascending; blade obovate, base cuneate, apex acuminate on larger leaves; fruiting pedicels of previous season not persistent on stem, not conspicously enlarged at apex; shrubs or small trees.
L. benzoin
2. Leaves drooping; blade elliptic to ovate, base rounded to widely cuneate, apex acute; fruiting pedicels of previous season persistent on stem, enlarged at apex; low shrubs rarely over 1.5 m.
L. melissifolia
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3. Author: B. Eugene Wofford.
Parent taxa Lauraceae > Lindera Lauraceae
Sibling taxa
L. benzoin, L. subcoriacea
Subordinate taxa
L. benzoin, L. melissifolia, L. subcoriacea
Synonyms Laurus melissifolia, Benzoin melissifolia Benzoin
Name authority (Walter) Blume: Mus. Bot. 1: 324. 1851 (as melissaefolia) Thunberg: Nova Gen. Pl. 3: 64. 1783, name conserved
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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