Spicebush vs Falsebox - TreeTime.ca

Spicebush vs Falsebox

Lindera benzoin

Paxistima myrsinites

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CUSTOM GROW

Spicebush
Falsebox

The Spicebush is an unique ornamental shrub that blooms with vibrant yellow flowers and bright green foliage. The foliage goes from green to yellow in the autumn, adding fall interest to your garden.The plant is dioecious, meaning that you will need male and female plants in order to harvest it’s red berries. Berries are only produced on female plants. The berries themselves aren’t that sweet, and are mostly enjoyed by birds and other wildlife.

The Spicebush, also commonly known as Common Spicebush, Northern Spicebush, Wild Allspice, and Benjamin Bush, is named after its distinctive spicy-sweet fragrance that comes from the flowers.

Falsebox is a hardy, native evergreen shrub found in forests, rocky slopes, and open woodland sites. Though small and easily overlooked among the leaves, the maroon flowers still supply nectar and pollen for pollinators such as native bees and flies. Blooming in spring, they provide an important early-season food source. Its year-round greenery adds visual interest through the winter.

Falsebox is a low-growing shrub that tolerates a wide range of conditions, including drought once established. It thrives particularly well beneath the shade of mature trees, where few other plants succeed. With its resilience and ecological value, Falsebox is well-suited for naturalization, restoration projects, and diverse landscape plantings.

Spicebush Quick Facts

Falsebox Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 5a
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: any
Light: any
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: slow
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: prostrate to spreading
Spreading: layering - medium
Suckering: medium


Foliage: fragrant
Foliage: evergreen, leathery leaves
Bark: reddish-brown
Flowers: greenish yellow
Flowers: small, maroon-purple, fragrant
Bloom time: summer
Berries: red
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: ON
Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: benjamin bush, common spicebush, northern spicebush, wild allspice
Other Names: false box, mountain boxwood, mountain lover, myrtle boxwood, oregon boxleaf, oregon boxwood