Common Name: SWEET-SHRUB or CALYCANTHUS FAMILY Habit: Shrub, deciduous [evergreen], aromatic. Leaf: opposite, simple, entire; stipules 0; petiole short. Inflorescence: flowers 1, terminal on short branches. Flower: bisexual, radial; receptacle hollow; parts generally many, spirally arranged; perianth parts +- petal-like, grading into bracts below; stamens on top of receptacle, smaller, sterile inward, filaments < anthers [0]; pistils simple, on inner face of receptacle, 2-ovuled, style thread-like, exserted from receptacle. Fruit: achenes many, included in +- leathery receptacle. Genera In Family: 3 genera, +- 10 species: North America, China, Australia; Calycanthus, Chimonanthus cultivated as ornamental, for fragrance. Note: Notable for disjunctions. eFlora Treatment Author: George P. Johnson & Fosiée Tahbaz Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.
Flower: perianth maroon or red-brown, inner parts shorter. Etymology: (Greek: cup flower, from hollow receptacle)
Calycanthus occidentalis Hook. & Arn.
NATIVE Habit: Erect, 1--3+ m, +- rounded. Leaf: petiole 3--10 mm; blade 5--15 cm, ovate- to lance-oblong or ovate-elliptic, firm, base generally rounded (cordate), tip acute (obtuse), abaxially +- glabrous to +- hairy, adaxially +- scabrous. Flower: +- 5 cm diam; perianth +- fleshy, hairy; filaments < 1 mm, anthers 4--5 mm. Fruit: receptacle ovoid (bell-shaped), with scars of perianth parts; achenes 7--10 mm, +- velvety, margins granular. Chromosomes: n=11. Ecology: Moist, shady places, canyons, streamsides; Elevation: generally < 1500 m. Bioregional Distribution: se KR, s NCoRO, NCoRI, s CaR, SNF, c&s SNH, SnJV (Kings River floodplain, e of Fresno), apparently naturalized n PR (Palomar Mtns). Flowering Time: Mar--Aug Jepson eFlora Author: George P. Johnson & Fosiée Tahbaz Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Calycanthus Next taxon: Lauraceae
Botanical illustration including Calycanthus occidentalis
Citation for this treatment: George P. Johnson & Fosiée Tahbaz 2012, Calycanthus occidentalis, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=16812, accessed on January 25, 2025.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2025, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on January 25, 2025.
Geographic subdivisions for Calycanthus occidentalis:
se KR, s NCoRO, NCoRI, s CaR, SNF, c&s SNH, SnJV (Kings River floodplain, e of Fresno), apparently naturalized n PR (Palomar Mtns).
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(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurrence).
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Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location.
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CCH collections by month
Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).
