Now is the time to begin finding these beautiful ruby red berries throughout our area.
Spicebush berries
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is an understory shrub found in open forests and along forest edges in rich, moderately moist soils. It typically does not grow much more than about eight feet tall.
How to Identify Spicebush
- A single- or few-stemmed, deciduous shrub, usually 6-15 feet tall, with graceful, slender, light green branches.
- The leaves are simple, alternate, with smooth margins and a leathery feel.
- Plants are typically found in moist, shady places.
- Use your fingernail to scratch a small part of the bark off a twig and sniff its distinctive spicy aroma – that will confirm your identification.
Many foragers find Spicebush most beautiful in autumn, when it has the golden leaves. That’s also when it is fairly easy to distinguish clusters of these usually shorter shrubs on the landscape. Looking for and then making note of where these groupings are located in the areas where you forage helps finding them again next year.
Yellow-leaved shrubs are all Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
In the latter half of April, Spicebush can be found blooming throughout our area. The dense clusters of greenish yellow flowers are very noticeable when they first flower, before the leaves emerge. Each flower is only ¼” big. Spicebush plants are dioecious; each exhibits either male or female flowers. Plants of both sexes must be adjacent if the female plants are to produce berries. Male and female flowers have different characteristics. Female flowers have six sepals and no petals. Male flowers are larger and showier. Each flower has 9 stamens divided into three groups, and the 3 innermost stamens have nectar glands at their bases.
However, at this time of year, our focus shifts to the red berries (as shown above) that these shrubs have produced. The soft outside encapsulates a hard seed.
Spicebush berries average around 1/4 inch (6 mm) wide by 7/16 inch (1 cm) long. Photo Credit: https://wildfoods4wildlife.com/monographs/common-spicebush/
Pick the berries after they turn red. As long as the fruit is red, it’s good to harvest. Locally, the berries may typically be harvested from now through mid-October.
Spicebush berries contain a very high amount of lipids (fats) – as much as fifty percent fat by weight – making them an important source of autumn fuel to migrating songbirds. So, please be sure to leave plenty behind on the shrubs that you forage.
There appears to be three distinct camps of belief as to what form the berries should be used. One camp suggests the best way is to dry them out and then grind them into a powder. However, some foragers have found that the oils in the berries often go rancid and dissipate with high intensity drying. Others collect them and keep them in the freezer in a jar. While they will turn black, they will still be soft when thawed out. Still other foragers insist that the berries should be eaten raw. However, raw berries have a strong, bitter flavor.
Here is yet another variable to consider. If you wish to separate the seeds from the flesh, please be advised that the seeds are unusually tender – do not use a blender or other aggressive processing methods.
Regardless of which form of the harvested berry (e.g., fresh, frozen, or dehydrated) you intend to use, please be mindful that whole fresh berries can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week after picking them.
The aromatic spiciness of these red fruit brightens up both sweet and savory dishes and lend themselves to some culinary creativity. People describe it as tasting like allspice, but also with a little heat and something floral in there, too.
Spicebush berries can be used in these culinary applications:
- jelly,
- chutney,
- spice rubs,
- in baked goods,
- in sauces, and
- tea.
Recipes for your consideration:
Apple-Spicebush Chutney (recipe is in the narrative of a story that appeared in The Atlantic)
Foraged Dry Rub (for chicken or pork)
Jellied Cranberry Sauce Recipe with Spicebush and Orange
Spicebush Cream Cheese Frosting
Spicebush Ice Cream Sandwiches
Spicebush Macarons with Crabapple Filling
Spicebush Meat Rub (for wild game)
Wild Allspice Java Rub (for steak, brisket, or pork)
To learn more about this native shrub –
Plant Guide: Spicebush (USDA PLANTS Database)
Happy foraging!
Curious By Nature 
Is possible that you have mislabeled the photos of male and female flowers? The “showy” one with petals is labeled “female”, but the description written above says that the females have no petals.
Heather,
Thanks for your question. While the images are not mine, the photographer has labeled them correctly. As noted in my post, the male flowers are actually more showy than the female flowers because they are slightly larger in size and also because of the protruding stamens. Also, as noted in my post, female flowers lack petals – those are sepals. Hope that helps.
Dave