Calycanthaceae

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Calycanthaceae Temporal range: Turonian - recent[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Possible Aptian record
Calycanthus floridus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Magnoliids
Order:	Laurales
Family:	Calycanthaceae Lindl.[2]
Genera
Calycanthus (incl. Sinocalycanthus) Chimonanthus Idiospermum

The Calycanthaceae (sweetshrubs or spicebushes) are a small family of flowering plants in the order Laurales. The family contains three genera and only 10 known species ^[3], restricted to warm temperate and tropical regions:

They are aromatic, deciduous shrubs growing to 2–4 m tall, except for Idiospermum, which is a large evergreen tree. The flowers are white to red, with spirally arranged tepals. DNA-based phylogenies indicate the Northern Hemisphere Calycanthus and Chimonanthus diverged from each other in the mid-Miocene, while the Australian Idiospermum had already diverged by the Upper Cretaceous and likely represents a remnant of a former Gondwanan distribution of Calycanthaceae.

The oldest definitive fossil of the family is Jerseyanthus from the Turonian of New Jersey; the even earlier Araripia from the Aptian of Brazil and Virginianthus from the Albian of Virginia may also represent members of the family, but may also be stem-Calycanthaceae or more basal Laurales.^[1] In 2024, Araripia was placed in its own order, Araripiaceae.^[4]

In the APG IV system of 2016, Calycanthaceae is placed in the Laurales order in the magnoliids clade.^[5]