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Wild flowers of the north-eastern states

Chapter 52: LAUREL FAMILY. LAURACEÆ.
By Ellen Miller
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Nature/Gardening/Animals

About This Book

This illustrated manual gathers 308 common wildflowers of the northeastern United States, each drawn life-size and accompanied by plain-language descriptions emphasizing habit, color, and growth rather than technical dissection. Organized by floral families in the sequence of Gray's Manual and arranged for seasonal bloom, entries include leaves, stems, and often whole growth, with occasional shrubs, vines, and fruit shown where notable. Aimed at amateur naturalists, it favors recognizable traits and folk names to ease identification, offers practical notes on variations and habitat, and pairs accurate botanical classification with accessible, pictorial presentation.

LAUREL FAMILY.
LAURACEÆ.

Spice-bush.Lindera Benzoin.
Fever-bush.
Benjamin-bush.
Wild Allspice.

Found flowering in April in damp soil and light shade.

A branching, slender shrub from 4 to 12 feet in height, of a woody fibre which is rather easily broken. The bark is smooth and firm, slightly glossy, and gray-brown, inclining to reddish when young.

The leaf is broad oval in shape, with a sharp tip, and set on a short stem; the margin is entire, the texture thick and tough, and the color is a rich dark green, paler underneath. The arrangement of the leaves is alternate, and they succeed the flowers in unfolding.

The flowers, small and indeterminate in shape, are thin and fragile in texture, and greenish, or lemon-yellow in color; they have 6 narrow petal-like parts, and many fine yellow stamens, with bright orange tips. They are set on little foot-stems, in small clusters within the protecting grasp of two pairs of small temporary envelopes, the outer pair golden brown and bark-like, the inner resembling the flower. These little clusters occur close together all along the branches.

Blossoming amidst the gray woods of the early spring this golden odorous shrub is a delightful surprise. The little leaf-bud is seen pushing its way forth from between the flower-clusters before the blossoms are fairly spread.