Lindera

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

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Lindera is a genus of about 80-100 species of flowering plants in the family Lauraceae, mostly native to eastern Asia but with three species in eastern North America. The species are shrubs and small trees; common names include Spicebush and Benjamin Bush.

The leaves can be either deciduous or evergreen depending on species, and are alternate, entire or three-lobed, and strongly spicy-aromatic. The flowers are small, yellowish, with six petaloid sepals and no petals. The fruit is a small red, purple or black drupe containing a single seed.

Lindera species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including The Engrailed. One of the world's rarest bee species, the andrenid bee Andrena lauracea is apparently a specialist on Lindera (see Lindera benzoin).

Read about Lindera in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Benzoin (of Arabic or Semitic origin, meaning o gum or perfume). Syn., Lindera. Lauraceae. Ornamental woody plants, grown chiefly for their handsome aromatic foliage; some species also for their early yellow flowers and the brightly colored fruits in autumn. Aromatic shrubs or trees: Lvs. alternate, entire or 3-lobed, deciduous or persistent: fls. polygamous or dioecious, apetalous. small, in axillary clusters with an involucre of 4 deciduous scales; sepals 6, rarely more; staminate fls. with 9 stamens, pistillate with a globose ovary and 9-15 staminodes: fr. a 1-seeded drupe. —About 60 species, if Daphnidium and Aperula are included, in Temp, and Trop. E. and Cent. Asia and in N. Amer. Some Asiatic species yield an odorous oil used in perfumery. The cultivated species, with the exception of B. gracile, are deciduous shrubs, with yellow flowers in small clusters before the leaves and red or black fruits in autumn. B. aestivale is hardy North and B. obtusilobum has proved hardy at the Arnold Arboretum in a sheltered position; B. hypoglaucum is of about equal hardiness: the other species are more tender. They thrive best in peaty or sandy and moist soil. Propagation is usually by seeds, which must be sown after maturity, as they soon lose their vitality; also by layers, which root best in peaty soil; of greenwood cuttings under glass, one-half may be expected to root. The benzoin of the druggists is a balsamic resin obtained from Styrax Benzoin. B. gracile, Kuntze (Daphnidium gracile, Nees). Lvs. ovate, 3-nerved, chartaceous, persistent. Habitat unknown. Stove plant. —B. hypoglaucum, Rehd. (Lindera hypoglauca, Maxim. B. hypoleucum, Kuntze). Lvs. penninerved, glaucous beneath: clusters few-fld., with or before the Lvs.: berries black. Japan.—B. melissifolium, Nees. Allied to B. aestivale. Branches pubescent: Lvs. oblong, downy beneath. Southern states.—B. obtusilobum, Kuntze. Large shrub with very handsome foliage: Lvs. 3-nerved, ovate or 3-lobed, grayish green and nearly glabrous beneath, 2-4½ in. long: clusters many-fld.: berries black. Japan.—B. proecox, Sieb. & Zucc. Lvs. penninerved. elliptic-oblong, greenish beneath, acuminate: clusters few- fld., before the Lvs.: berries brownish, ½ in. diam. Japan.—B, sericeum, Sieb. & Zucc. Lvs. penninerved, grayish pubescent beneath: clusters many-fld., with the Lvs. Japan. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Species

Selected species

Lindera aggregata Lindera akoensis Lindera angustifolia Lindera benzoin - Common Spicebush, Benjamin Bush Lindera chienii Lindera chunii Lindera communis Lindera doniana Lindera erythrocarpa Lindera flavinervia Lindera floribunda Lindera foveolata Lindera fragrans Lindera glauca Lindera gracilipes Lindera guangxiensis Lindera kariensis Lindera kwangtungensis Lindera latifolia Lindera limprichtii Lindera longipedunculata Lindera lungshengensis Lindera megaphylla

Lindera melissifolia - Southern Spicebush Lindera metcalfiana Lindera monghaiensis Lindera motuoensis Lindera nacusua Lindera neesiana Lindera obtusiloba Lindera praecox Lindera prattii Lindera pulcherrima Lindera reflexa Lindera robusta Lindera rubronervia Lindera setchuenensis Lindera strychnifolia Lindera subcoriacea - Bog Spicebush Lindera supracostata Lindera thomsonii Lindera tienchuanensis Lindera tonkinensis Lindera umbellata Lindera villipes

Gallery

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Lindera. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Lindera QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)