1. Lindera Thunberg, Nov. Gen. Pl. 3: 64. 1783, name conserved. 1676.
Spicebush [For John 1723, Swedish botanist]
B. Eugene Wofford
Benzoin Boerhaave ex Schaeffer
Shrubs or small trees , deciduous. Bark grayish, becoming darker with age. Leaves alternate, aromatic when crushed (at least when young). Leaf 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 bright red, ellipsoid to nearly globose, borne on pedicel, with or without persistent tepals at base. x = 12.
Species ca. 100 (3 in the flora): North America, e Asia.
SELECTED REFERENCES
McCartney, R. D., K. Wurdack, and J. Moore. 1989. The genus Lindera in Florida. Palmetto 9: 3-8. Steyermark, J. A. 1949. Lindera melissaefolia. Rhodora 51: 153-162. Wofford, B. E. 1983. A new Lindera from North America. J. Arnold Arbor. 64: 325-331.
