Sweetshrub

Description:

They are deciduous shrubs growing to 2-4 m tall. The leaves are opposite, entire, 5-15 cm long and 2-6 cm broad. The flowers are produced in early summer after the leaves, 4-7 cm broad, with numerous spirally arranged, narrow, dark red tepals (resembling a small magnolia flower); they are strongly scented. The fruit is an elliptic dry capsule 5-7 cm long, containing numerous seeds. The bark has a strong camphor smell that is released when stems are scraped.[3] The smell remains strong on twigs that have been stored several years in a dry environment. The scent of the flower has been compared to bubble gum.[4] Calycanthus oil, distilled from the flowers, is an essential oil used in some quality perfumes.[5]

Notes:

Lovely and unusal chocolate-colored flowers Spotted on the Noonday Creek Trail (Kennesaw, GA) which runs behind office buildings.