Sweetshrub, named for its fragrant flowers, is a North American native found in
the eastern United States. It grows in pine or hardwood forests, in ravines, in rocky woods, and along streams.
Sweetshrub is long popular as a landscape planting.
Plants: Rounded shrubs 6-9′ (1.8-2.7 m) around.
Leaves: Medium dark green, ovate to
elliptical, opposite, with
smooth edges. They are aromatic when crushed.
Flowers: Blood red to maroon to reddish brown, with straplike tepals,
sometimes very fragrant,
1-2″ (2.5-5 cm) around. (They may also be green or yellow in color.)
The fragrance is said by some to have hints of pineapple, strawberry,
and banana.
Flowers appear from April to July.
Fruits: Fruits are 2-3″ (5-7.6 cm) long, wrinkly, and urn-shaped, fading
from green to leathery brown.
Edibility: The aromatic bark is sometimes dried and used as
a substitute for cinnamon.