Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Clethra alnifolia
FAMILY
Cyrillaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Coastal Sweet-pepperbush at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clethra alnifolia
FAMILY
Clethraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 143-01-002a:
Clethra alnifolia var. alnifolia
FAMILY
Clethraceae
COMMON NAME:
Coastal Sweet-pepperbush, Coastal White-alder
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_clal3_001_lvd
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_clal3_006_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm160416_264
April Lowndes County GA
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_clethra_alnifolia_2
July
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_clethra_alnifolia_3
July
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_clethra_alnifolia_4b
July
Pedicels 2-4mm, shortly stellate-hairy; bract shorter than flower, per Flora of North America.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_clethra_alnifolia_4c
July
Bright white flowers in showy terminal racemes beyond the uppermost leaves, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers.
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JK Marlow jkm0308a_16
August Williamsburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0508h_06b
August Greenville County SC
In cultivation
Small flowers with long stamens, a protruding style, and a spicy fragrance, per Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee.
)
JK Marlow jkm0508h_08b
August Greenville County SC
In cultivation
Fruit a hairy, spherical capsule within a persistent calyx, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses.
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JK Marlow jkm0509a_25
September Greenville County SC
In cultivation
)
JK Marlow s050902_g
September Greenville County SC
In cultivation
Leaves sharply toothed (on upper half of blade), w parallel lateral veins, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers.
COMPARE
leaves of Clethra and Itea
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Clethra alnifolia
FAMILY
Cyrillaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clethra alnifolia
FAMILY
Clethraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 143-01-002a:
Clethra alnifolia var. alnifolia
FAMILY
Clethraceae
346
Shrub
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Common (rare in Piedmont), primarily endemic to the Southeastern Coastal Plain
Look for it in pocosins, blackwater swamp forests, non-riverine swamp forests, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
...Wet
...Moist
...Variable
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer
White
Bisexual
5 sepals
5 petals
10 stamens
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers p122
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses p324
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South p080
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p240
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers p124
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p063
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast p102
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p310
- Trees of the Southeastern United States p309
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry p167
- Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition p129
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p172
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p123
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide p106
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region p169