OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Rosales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Spiraea tomentosa   FAMILY Rosaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spiraea tomentosa   FAMILY Rosaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Spiraea tomentosa

INCLUDING Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 9 (2014)

Spiraea tomentosa var. rosea

INCLUDING Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 9 (2014)

Spiraea tomentosa var. tomentosa

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 097-15-002:

Spiraea tomentosa   FAMILY Rosaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Spiraea tomentosa

 

COMMON NAME:
Hardhack, Steeplebush, Rosy Meadowsweet


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Spiraea tomentosa, Hardhack, Steeplebush, Rosy Meadowsweet

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_spto2_001_lvd

        

image of Spiraea tomentosa, Hardhack, Steeplebush, Rosy Meadowsweet

JK Marlow    jkm210807_2472

August    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

Leaf undersides light brownish-woolly with conspicuous veins, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).

image of Spiraea tomentosa, Hardhack, Steeplebush, Rosy Meadowsweet

JK Marlow    jkm210807_2591

August    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

image of Spiraea tomentosa, Hardhack, Steeplebush, Rosy Meadowsweet

JK Marlow    jkm210807_2593

August    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

A sparsely branched, low shrub, about 3' tall, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).

image of Spiraea tomentosa, Hardhack, Steeplebush, Rosy Meadowsweet

JK Marlow    jkm210807_2595

August    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

image of Spiraea tomentosa, Hardhack, Steeplebush, Rosy Meadowsweet

JK Marlow    jkm210807_2595b

August    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

Flowers 0.12-0.25" across, with reflexed sepals, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).

image of Spiraea tomentosa, Hardhack, Steeplebush, Rosy Meadowsweet

JK Marlow    jkm210807_2595c

August    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

image of Spiraea tomentosa, Hardhack, Steeplebush, Rosy Meadowsweet

JK Marlow    jkm210807_2596

August    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

The steeple-shaped inflorescence gives the plant its name, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).

image of Spiraea tomentosa, Hardhack, Steeplebush, Rosy Meadowsweet

Ron Lance    rwl_spiraeatomentosab

August    Jackson County    NC

High Hampton Inn

image of Spiraea tomentosa, Hardhack, Steeplebush, Rosy Meadowsweet

Ron Lance    rwl_spiraeatomentosab3

August    Jackson County    NC

High Hampton Inn

Leaves 1-2" long, toothed, elliptic, tapering at both ends, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).

image of Spiraea tomentosa, Hardhack, Steeplebush, Rosy Meadowsweet

Ron Lance    rwl_spiraeatomentosab4

August    Jackson County    NC

High Hampton Inn

image of Spiraea tomentosa, Hardhack, Steeplebush, Rosy Meadowsweet

JK Marlow    jkm211027_4649

October    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Spiraea tomentosa   FAMILY Rosaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spiraea tomentosa   FAMILY Rosaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Spiraea tomentosa

INCLUDING Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 9
Spiraea tomentosa var. rosea

INCLUDING Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 9
Spiraea tomentosa var. tomentosa

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 097-15-002:
Spiraea tomentosa   FAMILY Rosaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Spiraea tomentosa

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1455

Shrub
Perennial

Habitat: bogs, wet meadows, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common in NC Mountains & NC Coastal Plain, uncommon in SC Coastal Plain (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Pink (rarely white)
Radially symmetrical
5 united sepals
5 petals
15-20 stamens
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Aggregate of 5 follicles

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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