Spicebush or Spicewood
Lindera benzoin
Family--Lauraceae
A true harbinger of spring, Spicebush flowers with lemon yellow flowers in mid March. It generally occurs on rich slopes, bottomlands and coves in lower elevations. Flowers appears before the leaves and are dioecious. Spicebush produces a scarlet drupe typically eaten by Verry and Wood Thrushes, although rabbits, opossums and deer eat the twigs and fruits. Spicebush is easily recognized by it's spicy scent throughout all parts of the plant. Early settlers used the Spicebush as an indicator of good agricultural land since the plant prefers alkaline or neutral soils. Spicebush flowers at the same time as Forsythia and is a good argument for planting natives over exotics in the home landscape due to Spicebush's (in my opinion) understated elegance compared to Forsythia and yet similar structural elements with similar flowering times.
--photo and text by anonymous friend