2004-07-12
EXOTIC FLORA
The "Pineapple bush" in our front yard is clearly an anomaly | While I've seen mention of the species as growing in Illinois, what I've been able to locate mostly comes from south of us | Much farther south | Known also as "Sweetshrub," "Spice bush" and "Strawberry Tree" it
goes by the Latin name of Calycanthus floridus | Sites where it's listed include South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Florida | Said to live in "mostly in rich, deciduous woods along stream banks and other moist places" makes it thus explainable that ours roots above the channelized "stream" that flows part of the year from our dirt-floored basement |
Two points of interest: (1) One source noted that "An alkaloid ...in the seed ...reported [as] toxic to cattle ...but not usually eaten." and (2) the variety of flower colors found |
^-- pix credit: © 2004/Bill McClain | Illinois Dept of Natural Resources
A text reference was listed at the South Carolina Site: John Kartesz' A Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland (1994, 2nd edition, 2 vols., Timber Press: Portland)
One final credit: Thanks to Tom who sent me the first real clue in my search| ¶ 23:03
The "Pineapple bush" in our front yard is clearly an anomaly | While I've seen mention of the species as growing in Illinois, what I've been able to locate mostly comes from south of us | Much farther south | Known also as "Sweetshrub," "Spice bush" and "Strawberry Tree" it
goes by the Latin name of Calycanthus floridus | Sites where it's listed include South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Florida | Said to live in "mostly in rich, deciduous woods along stream banks and other moist places" makes it thus explainable that ours roots above the channelized "stream" that flows part of the year from our dirt-floored basement |
Two points of interest: (1) One source noted that "An alkaloid ...in the seed ...reported [as] toxic to cattle ...but not usually eaten." and (2) the variety of flower colors found |
^-- pix credit: © 2004/Bill McClain | Illinois Dept of Natural Resources
A text reference was listed at the South Carolina Site: John Kartesz' A Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland (1994, 2nd edition, 2 vols., Timber Press: Portland)
One final credit: Thanks to Tom who sent me the first real clue in my search| ¶ 23:03
