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Lauraceae
Japanese Spicebush
Lindera obtusiloba
Aromatic awakening and hidden warmth.
- Family
- Lauraceae
- Genus
- Lindera
- Native to
- Japan, Korea, China
- Bloom season
- Early Spring
- Type
- deciduous shrub or small tree
- Height
- 3–6 m
- Sunlight
- part shade to full sun
- Soil
- moist, well-drained, humus-rich
- Water
- medium
- Hardiness
- 5–8
- Lifespan
- 50+ years
Did you know
- Crushed leaves emit a pleasant spicy-sweet fragrance, giving the plant its common name.
- The distinctive three-lobed leaves turn brilliant butter-yellow in autumn, rivaling any maple for fall color.
- Tiny clustered flowers appear before the leaves, wreathing bare branches in a haze of yellow.
- Japanese spicebush is related to cinnamon, sassafras, and bay laurel — all members of the aromatic laurel family.
- In Korea the leaves are sometimes used to wrap rice cakes, imparting a subtle fragrance to the food.
Color meanings
Yellow
cheerful discovery
Green-Yellow
spring's first whisper