Calycanthus floridus ‘Athens’

Calycanthus floridus, commonly called Carolina allspice, is a dense, rounded deciduous shrub with a suckering habit which grows 6-9′ (less frequently to 12′) tall with an equal or slightly greater spread. Features very fragrant, brown to reddish-brown flowers (2″ across) which bloom at the ends of short branchlets in May. Flowers give way to brownish, urn-shaped fruits (seed capsules) which mature in fall and persist throughout the winter. Lustrous, dark green (pale beneath), ovate to elliptic leaves to 6″ long turn golden yellow in fall. Leaves are aromatic when bruised. Best to purchase this plant when in flower because the quality and intensity of the fragrance can vary widely from plant to plant. Also commonly called sweetshrub and strawberry bush in reference to the fragrant blooms which have been described as combining hints of pineapple, strawberry and banana. Further common name of hairy allspice is in reference to the hairy twigs and leaf undersides of this plant. U.S. native from Virginia to Florida. [Missouri Botanical Gardens]

Calycanthus floridus ‘Athens’ (syn. ‘Katherine’) is a yellow-flowered variant of our native sweetshrub. Common names include Carolina allspice and strawberry bush. It is a beautiful and understated shrub. Calycanthus ‘Athens’ is named after the city of Athens, Georgia. It was introduced to UGA Professor Michael Dirr by Jane Symmes. Dr. Dirr originally named the plant ‘Katherine’ for his daughter. This cultivar was discovered in the 1960s by Mary Brumby in Athens (Hatch L., Cultivars of Woody Plants: Genera C) and first introduced for sale in 1985. As for the light yellow coloring, Calycanthus ‘Athens’ is an albino form due to a lack of anthocyanins, pigments that vary between red, purple, and blue, according to pH. Blueberries and raspberries owe their color to anthocyanins. [The landscape of us]