Flora of North America species comparison

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Lindera melissifolia

Lindera subcoriacea

pondberry, southern spicebush

bog spicebush
Habit Shrubs, 2 m (to 4 m when shaded).
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 elliptic to oblanceolate, 4-8 × 2-4 cm, somewhat leathery, base cuneate, margins ciliate when young, apex obtuse to rounded;

surfaces abaxially pubescent, adaxially pubescent when young, becoming glabrous with age.
Drupe

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

ellipsoid, ca. 10 mm;

pedicels of previous season not persistent on stem, slender, to 4 mm, apex not conspicuously enlarged.
Low

shrubs, rarely over 1.5 m. Young twigs pubescent.

Young

twigs pubescent, glabrescent with age.

Lindera melissifolia

Lindera subcoriacea
Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering spring.
Habitat Low woods, depressions, pond and sink margins, Coastal Plain and Mississippi Embayment Evergreen-shrub bogs, acidic swamps of blackwater swamp forests, acidic seepage bogs, Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains and adjacent Piedmont
Elevation 0-100 m (0-300 ft) 0-200 m (0-700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; GA; MO; MS; NC; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; VA
[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.)

Of conservation concern.

Lindera subcoriacea was described originally from Mississippi and Louisiana. R. D. McCartney et al. (1989) reported it from the other sites.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Lauraceae > Lindera Lauraceae > Lindera
Sibling taxa
L. benzoin, L. subcoriacea
L. benzoin, L. melissifolia
Synonyms Laurus melissifolia, Benzoin melissifolia
Name authority (Walter) Blume: Mus. Bot. 1: 324. 1851 (as melissaefolia) Wofford: J. Arnold Arbor. 64: 325. (1983)
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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