Spice Bush Seeds

Anyone who loves a well stocked spice cupboard will want this incredible plant in their garden. Every part of the Spicebush is intensely aromatic!  The leaves have a spicy fragrance when crushed and can be used fresh in hot or iced tea. The twigs can be simmered in water for a warming tea year round.  In Fall, the berries can be collected and dried to use as a culinary spice, which can be used in place of allspice in sweet and savory dishes - it makes a scrumptious spice cake! The peppery taste of Spicebush berries is also fabulous in meat rubs and marinades.  Don’t waste any time gathering the bright red berries - birds quickly snap up this high-fat food source! Spicebush attracts interesting visitors in summer, too, such as the larva of the spicebush swallowtail butterfly, which feeds on the leaves.  Spicebush is a lovely, native woodland shrub that works well in a border, at the edge of a forest, or in naturalized areas. It prefers moist locations in part to full sun. It grows to ten feet with pretty, teardrop shaped leaves. Clusters of tiny, perfumed, greenish-yellow flowers bloom along the branches in early Spring before foliage appears. These flowers give way to bright red drupes in fall, while the leaves turn a yellow-bronze hue.  Female plants need a male pollinator to set fruit. Male shrubs have larger, showier flowers than female ones.