I’ve found a shrub/small tree that I believe is spicebush, but I still have a reservation. The seed inside the berry is huge (comprising at least 90% of the berry) which seems to me (and maybe that’s where I’m getting confused :P) unusual enough to warrant mentioning it in guides, but I haven’t seen any such description.
Does anyone have any experience w/ spicebush that could address this? I’d really appreciate it.
i haven’t worked with spicebush before, but i remember them from several wildman foraging tours. the berries were very bright red, and they had that strong odor.
here’s the wildman’s page on spicebush: Common Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
I’m pretty sure it’s spicebush…
the leaves looked right (alternate simple, somewhat rounded middle w/ pointy tips). it was the wrong season to view the flowers, but there a mix of green & red (mostly red) oval berries. The leaves & berries had a strong aroma that i wouldn’t call allspice-ish, but Brill’s “lemony-spicy fragrance” seems pretty close. the berries were oily too. i’m just surprised about the seed. it’s about the size of a dried bean and the rest of the berry is a thin (maybe 1/8 inch??) covering. that seems distinctive enough to me to be described, but i don’t see that in any description i’ve found.
prolly being paranoid.
duh, nm
From Brill’s site (emphasis mine):
The spiciest parts are the hard, oval, stalked, scarlet berries, [b]each with one large seed[/b].
'poligies, numbskull moment…
Spicebush smells kind of citronella-y to me.
i remember the berries being oily. i didn’t notice anything lemony about them, but i just smelled them the one time.
your description sounds dead on – according to what i scantly remember. 