蜡梅科是樟目中的一个小科，只有4属共6-11种，生长在热带和暖温带地区。

• 美洲夏蜡梅属 Calycanthus （共2-4种，生长在北美洲南部）
• 蜡梅属 Chimonanthus （3-6种，生长在东亚）
• 奇子树属 Idiospermum] （只有一种，生长在澳大利亚的昆士兰州）
• 夏蜡梅属 Sinocalycanthus （只有一种，生长在东亚）

本科植物皆为灌木，高约2-4米，只有奇子树为高大乔木，花为红色或白色，花瓣螺旋状排列。

The Calycanthaceae (sweetshrubs or spicebushes) are a small family of flowering plants in the order Laurales. The family contains three genera and only 10 species, 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 that included South America, as indicated by the occurrence of Cretaceous Calycanthaceae fossils in Brazil.