Calycanthus occidentalis
Calycanthus occidentalis, commonly called spice bush or western sweetshrub, is a species of flowering shrub in the family Calycanthaceae that is native to California. It grows along streams and moist canyons in the foothills of mountains.
Description
Calycanthus occidentalis is a deciduous shrub that can reach a height of. Its leaves are opposite, and grow to about long and wide. They are more-or-less ovate with acute tips, a rounded base. The flowers appear from late spring to early fall. The flowers do not have distinctive sepals and petals, but have swirls of dark red to burgundy colored petal-like structures called tepals, long and wide. The flowers open to about wide, but can occasionally reach wide. According to Munz and Keck, the tepals can be up to long for a potential flower width of. The tepals enclose about 10–15 stamens. The flowers are pollinated by beetles of the family Nitidulidae.
Cytology
The chromosome count is 2n= 22.
Distribution and habitat
Calycanthus occidentalis is endemic to California, and found throughout much of the state from as far north as the Klamath Mountains and as far south as the San Joaquin Valley. Past collections in Washington have been found to have escaped cultivation, and are not naturally occurring. It grows along streams and on moist canyon slopes at elevations of.