Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cephalanthus occidentalis
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Buttonbush at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cephalanthus occidentalis
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 173-02-001:
Cephalanthus occidentalis
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cephalanthus occidentalis
COMMON NAME:
Buttonbush
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_ceoc2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_ceoc2_005_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_ceoc2_009_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm070328_012
March Greenville County SC
Fruit a globular head of seed superficially similar to small sycamore fruit, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide.
)
JK Marlow jkm160416_236
April Lowndes County GA
Rubiaceae is distinctive in that the stipules of opposite leaves are connate, per Plant Systematics.
)
JK Marlow jkm150529_118
May Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0506k_04b
June Union County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
Leaves ovate to elliptic, tips cuspidate or acute, margins entire, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
)
JK Marlow jkm0506k_04c
June Union County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm0506k_20
June Union County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
A large coarse wetland shrub, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers.
)
JK Marlow jkm0506k_25
June Union County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm130628_319
June Cherokee County NC
Murphy River Walk
Numerous sessile flowers radiating in dense spherical heads, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses.
)
JK Marlow jkm130628_319b
June Cherokee County NC
Murphy River Walk
Small tubular flowers with protruding styles in dense pincushion-like heads, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont.
)
JK Marlow jkm190604_8895
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Leaves opposite or whorled 3-4 to the node & up to about 7" long x 4" wide, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_c_occidentalis_5
July
)
Gill Newberry gn08_c_occidentallis_bran
August
)
JK Marlow jkm210818_2852
August Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_080221hayesville07
August Clay County NC
Clay County Native Botanical Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0509g_04
September Cabarrus County NC
Suther Prairie
)
JK Marlow jkm0509g_13
September Cabarrus County NC
Suther Prairie
Fruit a dense head of nutlets, reddish-brown, persisting through the winter, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_c_occidentalis_button
Month Unknown DeKalb County AL
Little River Canyon
Admired in Europe, but largely unappreciated in the southeast US, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Cephalanthus occidentalis
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Cephalanthus occidentalis
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 173-02-001:
Cephalanthus occidentalis
FAMILY
Rubiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Cephalanthus occidentalis
301
Semi-aquatic shrub
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
Habitat: Streambanks, riverbanks, depressional wetlands, lakes, marshes, often in standing water, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Opposite or whorled
Margins entire
FLOWER:
Summer
White
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
4-lobed calyx, crowded & indistinct
4-lobed tubular corolla
4 stamens
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Reddish/Greenish/Brown
Nutlet
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers p157
- Field Guide to Aquatic Plants of Alabama p09
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses p322
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p240
- Landscaping with Native Trees p254
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p062
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast p123
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide p298
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p164
- Southern Appalachian Wildflowers p063
- Trees of the Southeastern United States p100
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry p108
- Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition p177
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p235
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p260
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge p17
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont p278
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide p098
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region p279