Carolina Allspice
Calycanthus floridus
Old-garden favorite grown for strange maroon flowers that smell of fermented fruit, and for aromatic bark and leaves. Easygoing in sun or shade. It contains calycanthine, an alkaloid related to strychnine and toxic to people and livestock — grow it for the scent, not the seed.
- Family
- Calycanthaceae
- Type
- shrub
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 6–10 ft
- Spacing
- 6–12 ft apart
- Light
- part shade
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, alkaline, neutral
- Bloom
- April, May, June, July
- Bloom colors
- red
- Wildlife value
- butterflies, pollinators
- Landscape uses
- border, foundation, hedge or screen, naturalizing
- Native states
- AL, DC, FL, GA, IN, KY, LA, MA, MS, NC, OH, SC, TN, VA