Dear Group,

Please help me identify a small shrub which I planted last fall.
Unfortunately, I don't have the capability of putting photographs on
the internet, so I'll just have to describe.

The plant grew originally in West Virginia. My mother had this in her
yard and said the original plant came from the house where she grew
up, also in West Virginia (both in the northern part, about 50 mi.
south of the PA border). I live in Missouri, zone 6, St. Louis area.

The plant is obviously a woody shrub. At present it is only about two
feet high, but I'm told than when old it can get five or six feet high
and spread as wide. It has already leafed out and bloomed. First bloom
was about two weeks ago.

The blooms are a nice lemon yellow, five petals, flat configuration
and about 1/2" across. They have a sweet fragrance, which is perhaps
why my mother calls it "spice bush". The leaves are small, no more
than 3/4" long, and cut in three segments, joined at a common end,
like fingers. The fingers are deeply cut, much more than, for example,
sassafras. The edges are smooth. Color is dark green.

The closest thing I can find in my books is Potentilla, but the
contrast might be informative. Potentilla blossoms are larger and the
petals are rounded and overlap. My petals are narrow and don't overlap
at all. Potentilla leaves are also cut, but I believe they have five
segments (cinquefoil), not three like this plant. Also, the color on
Potentilla is pale yellow, while these are a pretty strong color.

Any ideas will be gratefully received. TIA!

Guy Bradley
Chesterfield MO
zone 6

Spice bush is the wrong name. I think what you have may be flowering currant.
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

On Thu, 10 Apr 2003 08:46:34 -0500, "Guy Bradley"
wrote:

Please help me identify a small shrub which I planted last fall.
Unfortunately, I don't have the capability of putting photographs on
the internet, so I'll just have to describe.

The plant grew originally in West Virginia. My mother had this in her
yard and said the original plant came from the house where she grew
up, also in West Virginia (both in the northern part, about 50 mi.
south of the PA border). I live in Missouri, zone 6, St. Louis area.

The plant is obviously a woody shrub. At present it is only about two
feet high, but I'm told than when old it can get five or six feet high
and spread as wide. It has already leafed out and bloomed. First bloom
was about two weeks ago.

The blooms are a nice lemon yellow, five petals, flat configuration
and about 1/2" across. They have a sweet fragrance, which is perhaps
why my mother calls it "spice bush". The leaves are small, no more
than 3/4" long, and cut in three segments, joined at a common end,
like fingers. The fingers are deeply cut, much more than, for example,
sassafras. The edges are smooth. Color is dark green.

The closest thing I can find in my books is Potentilla, but the
contrast might be informative. Potentilla blossoms are larger and the
petals are rounded and overlap. My petals are narrow and don't overlap
at all. Potentilla leaves are also cut, but I believe they have five
segments (cinquefoil), not three like this plant. Also, the color on
Potentilla is pale yellow, while these are a pretty strong color.

Doing the reverse, that is, searching on 'spice bush' may eliminate
that possibility -- the examples I found, text and photos, mentioned
red or red-brown blossoms.

web photos -- digital camera is the easiest way, and like most
electronica, they're getting cheaper all the time. If you can take a
regular ol' film photo, cultivate neighbors who might have a scanner
to digitize it for you. (Many plant specimens can be scanned directly,
if you're willing to clean the glass/plastic very carefully and gently
afterward.)

Someone can probably list the characteristics that are most helpful in
identifying a plant -- stem shape, leaves opposite or alternate,
number of petals & arrangement (as you have noted), etc.

Hey, C+10 -- how 'bout a small monograph on the subject?

It is definitley not any of the plants that commonly go by "spice bush". Try
doing a google search on Ribes odoratum and I bet you will find your plant.

Toad

"Iris Cohen" wrote in message
...
Spice bush is the wrong name. I think what you have may be flowering
currant.
Iris,

Dear Iris,

Thank you for your suggestion. After a little more digging, I found
that the plant is Ribes aureum, not sure of variety. I missed the fact
that the flowers have tubes. I recall when I first saw the plant that
I thought it was gooseberry, which my neighbor had for many years, but
gooseberries don't bloom in yellow and my plant had no thorns.
However, it is a deadringer for Ribes aureum, golden current.

As a side note, the plant is native to the American West, not found
east of the Rockies. How it ever got to West Virginia is a mystery to
me. Sixty or seventy years ago when the plant was first known to my
mother (who is 89 now), plants were offered around as much as they are
now.

Guy Bradley
Chesterfield MO
zone 6

It is definitley not any of the plants that commonly go by "spice bush". Try
doing a google search on Ribes odoratum and I bet you will find your plant.

However, spice bush does grow everywhere in West VA. I have only seen them
in the wild, but would make a nice bush for a shady lawn. The leaves and the
berries are most fragrent.


Dave
http://members.tripod.com/~VideoDave

I have a Spice Bush. It is the first thing to bloom in my yard. I love it for
the fragrance, but it seem to take over everything. I'm constantly mowing over
the sprouts/runners in my lawn.
Sue in Mi. (Zone 5)

On Thu, 10 Apr 2003 08:46:34 -0500, "Guy Bradley"
wrote:

Dear Group,

Please help me identify a small shrub which I planted last fall.
Unfortunately, I don't have the capability of putting photographs on
the internet, so I'll just have to describe.

The plant grew originally in West Virginia. My mother had this in her
yard and said the original plant came from the house where she grew
up, also in West Virginia (both in the northern part, about 50 mi.
south of the PA border). I live in Missouri, zone 6, St. Louis area.

The plant is obviously a woody shrub. At present it is only about two
feet high, but I'm told than when old it can get five or six feet high
and spread as wide. It has already leafed out and bloomed. First bloom
was about two weeks ago.

The blooms are a nice lemon yellow, five petals, flat configuration
and about 1/2" across. They have a sweet fragrance, which is perhaps
why my mother calls it "spice bush". The leaves are small, no more
than 3/4" long, and cut in three segments, joined at a common end,
like fingers. The fingers are deeply cut, much more than, for example,
sassafras. The edges are smooth. Color is dark green.

The closest thing I can find in my books is Potentilla, but the
contrast might be informative. Potentilla blossoms are larger and the
petals are rounded and overlap. My petals are narrow and don't overlap
at all. Potentilla leaves are also cut, but I believe they have five
segments (cinquefoil), not three like this plant. Also, the color on
Potentilla is pale yellow, while these are a pretty strong color.

Any ideas will be gratefully received. TIA!

Guy Bradley
Chesterfield MO
zone 6

There are several bushes that are either accurately or colloquially
called "Spice Bushes." You might want to start with this link.

http://www.tripleoaks.com/treeguide/Cfloridus.html




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On Fri, 11 Apr 2003 08:30:35 -0500, "Guy Bradley"
wrote:

How it ever got to West Virginia is a mystery to
me. Sixty or seventy years ago when the plant was first known to my
mother (who is 89 now), plants were offered around as much as they are
now.

This may be a plant that has spread world wide in temperate regions.
It is cultivated for ornament and fruit. It is easy from seed and the
seeds are spread by birds.
It has been grown at least since the early 1800s, it was found by Lewis
and Clark.