Calycanthus L. (1753) is one of 4 genera in the Calycanthaceae. It has 2 species, both in North America. Description Shrubs to 4m, rather upright and very leafy. The leaves are opposite, deciduous, aromatic, dark green, and rough to the touch on the upper surface, elliptic to ovate. The flowers are maroon or dark reddish-brown, strawberry- or pineapple-scented, to 7.5cm across, with numerous spirally arranged, rather narrow petals merging into sepals. The stamens are 5–30, arranged in a spiral. The styles are long and slender, 5–35, each with 1 carpel, embedded on the inside of the young fruit. Pollination is by insects, attracted to the succulent, white substance on the tips of the inner petals, stamens, and staminodes. The fruits are dry and fibrous, flat-topped, with the 6mm-long seeds attached to the lower part of the wall. Key Recognition Features The rough, opposite, aromatic leaves help identify the shrub without flowers. When in flower, the fruity scent and reddish-brown petals are typical. Evolution and Relationships The spiral arrangement of the stamens and the undifferentiated floral segments are considered primitive characteristics. As well as Sinocalycanthus and Chimonanthus, the other genus in the family is the tropical Idiospermum australiense (Diels) S.T. Blake, the ribbonwood, from Queensland. Ecology and Geography Found in woodlands and along streams and rivers. Calycanthus floridus L., the Carolina allspice, is from southeastern North America, flowering in late spring. Calycanthus occidentalis Hook. & Arn. is from California and Washington; its
long-stalked flowers continue throughout the summer. Calycanthus fertilis Walt. is now considered to be merely a variety of C. floridus. Comment Calycanthus contains the alkaloid calycanthine, which is very poisonous and similar to strychnine. It was used medicinally by American Indians. |
