Flowering shrub

Winter daphne

Daphne odora

🌷 Flowering shrub

Winter daphne is a popular flowering shrub. It's on our flower lists for 16 states.

–states

16of our state lists

31U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 23, 2026. Planted garden shrubs are mostly excluded from research grade.

On our lists for: California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington

Quick look

Daphne odora, winter daphne, is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae, native to China, later spread to Japan and Korea. It is an evergreen shrub, grown for its very fragrant, fleshy, pale-pink, tubular flowers, each with four spreading lobes, and for its glossy foliage. It rarely fruits, producing red berries after flowering.
From Wikipedia's article Daphne odora, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Thymelaeaceae family. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 11 research-grade sightings of it in North Carolina, ranking #148 among the 192 flowers on our North Carolina list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 7 research-grade sightings of it in Georgia, ranking #154 among the 183 flowers on our Georgia list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 3 research-grade sightings of it in Virginia, ranking #157 among the 189 flowers on our Virginia list. ^iNaturalist

Winter daphne gift ideas

Handmade winter daphne gifts from independent makers.

🌱 Sample spot. Handmade gift picks from independent shops will appear here once our shop partnership is approved. These cards are placeholders, not real products.

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Winter daphne art print
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Winter daphne greeting card
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Winter daphne mug
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Winter daphne earrings
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Winter daphne embroidery pattern
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Winter daphne sticker
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When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (2 records)

Bloom time in each of our 16 states

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
North Carolina	🌷 Garden	few records	11
Georgia	🌷 Garden	few records	7
Virginia	🌷 Garden	few records	3
Washington	🌷 Garden	few records	3
South Carolina	🌷 Garden	few records	2
Pennsylvania	🌷 Garden	few records	1
Utah	🌷 Garden	few records	1
California	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Colorado	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Illinois	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Massachusetts	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Maryland	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Michigan	🌷 Garden	few records	0
New York	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Oregon	🌷 Garden	few records	0
Tennessee	🌷 Garden	few records	0

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe: Unknown We couldn't find this name in NatureServe Explorer. ^NatureServe
North Carolina: Not listed Not on North Carolina Protected Plant Species List (02 NCAC 48F .0301). ^{02 NCAC 48F .0301}
Georgia: Not listed Not on Georgia protected plants (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-4-10-.09; a 2026 update is proposed). ^{Ga. R. 391-4-10-.09}
Virginia: Not listed Not on Virginia endangered and threatened plant and insect species (2VAC5-320-10). ^2VAC5-320-10
Washington: No list Washington has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants (the Washington Natural Heritage Program's rare plant list isn't regulatory), so we show NatureServe's Washington ranks instead.
South Carolina: No list South Carolina has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's South Carolina ranks instead.
Pennsylvania: Not listed Not on Pennsylvania classified native plants (17 Pa. Code Ch. 45, Subchapter B, as amended 2023). ^{17 Pa. Code Ch. 45}
Utah: No list Utah has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Utah ranks instead.
California: Not listed Not on California state-listed endangered, threatened and rare plants (14 CCR § 670.2), per CDFW's CNDDB list (July 2026). ^{CNDDB listed plants (July 2026)}
Colorado: No list Colorado has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Colorado ranks instead.
Illinois: Not listed Not on Illinois List of Endangered and Threatened Flora (17 Ill. Adm. Code 1050), per the Endangered Species Protection Board's 2025 checklist. ^{IL E&T checklist 2025}
Massachusetts: Not listed Not on Massachusetts Endangered Species Act list (321 CMR 10.90). ^{MESA list}
Maryland: Not listed Not on Maryland threatened and endangered plants (COMAR 08.03.08.05, .06 and .08). ^{COMAR 08.03.08}
Michigan: Not listed Not on Michigan endangered and threatened plants (Mich. Admin. Code R 299.1028, eff. March 20, 2023). ^{R 299.1028}
New York: Not listed Not on New York protected native plants (6 NYCRR § 193.3). ^{6 NYCRR § 193.3}
Oregon: Not listed Not on Oregon endangered and threatened plants (OAR 603-073-0070). ^{OAR 603-073-0070}
Tennessee: Not listed Not on Tennessee endangered plants (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-06-02-.04, Rare Plant Protection and Conservation Act). ^{TN rule 0400-06-02-.04}

Checked October 23, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peoplePoisonous to people

NC State Extension lists it as poisonous to humans (severity: high). Poisonous parts: bark, flowers, fruits, leaves, roots, seeds, stems. Symptoms they list: “Unknown, but possibly as in D. mezereum” ^{NC State Extension}

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list, and NC State Extension doesn't flag it for pets.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.