Shrub to 5 m (16 ft) tall. Twigs gray, glabrous. Leaves alternate, thin, usually glabrous, obovate, acuminate, ciliate-margined, 6-14 cm (2.4-5.5 in) long and 2.5-6 cm (1-2.4 in) wide. Flowers in umbellate axillary clusters, about 2 mm (0.1 in) long, yellow, appearing in early Spring before the leaves. Fruits drupes, shiny red (rarely yellow) when ripe, 1-2 cm long, maturing in Fall.
Distribution: Native to about the eastern third of the U. S.
Habitat: Usually floodplain forests.
NWI status: FACW-
Comment: Lindera honors the Swedish physician John Linder; benzoin denotes a resemblance, in odor, to the resin of the old-world tree Styrax benzoin.
Distribution in Oklahoma: 
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Last update: 9/14/99
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