OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Clethra acuminata   FAMILY Clethraceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clethra acuminata   FAMILY Clethraceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Clethra acuminata

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 143-01-001:

Clethra acuminata   FAMILY Clethraceae

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

Clethra acuminata

 

COMMON NAME:
Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder


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

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_clac3_001_lvd

        

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm130420_513

April    Transylvania County    NC

Foothills Trail

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm130420_518

April    Transylvania County    NC

Foothills Trail

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm060508_036

May    Macon County    NC

Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District

Its shreddy reddish (cinnamon-like) bark is distinctive, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm060723_167

July    Haywood County    NC

Blue Ridge Parkway

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm220705_8913

July    Greenville County    SC

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm220705_8916

July    Greenville County    SC

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve

Flowers in terminal racemes or narrow panicles, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_c_acuminata_7_23_06_3

July    Towns-Union Counties    GA

Brasstown Bald

Pedicels 2-6(-11)mm, stellate-hairy; bract longer than flower, per Flora of North America.

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_c_acuminata_7_23_06_5

July    Towns-Union Counties    GA

Brasstown Bald

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm120815_729

August    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm120815_730

August    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

Sepals and rachis woolly, white, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm120815_735

August    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

Leaves oblong or elliptic, 8-20 cm long, acuminate, per Weakley's Flora.


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE leaves of Clethra and Itea

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm150827_876

August    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

Capsules subglobose, dehiscence loculicidal, enclosed by persistent calyx, per Flora of North America.

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm150827_877

August    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm0310f_34

October    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

Fruit matures in autumn and persists through winter, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm0310f_36

October    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

The bark is reddish-brown and thin, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm211027_4565

October    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm211027_4566

October    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm211027_4568

October    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm211027_4647

October    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm221004_0229

October    Greenville County    SC

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm221004_0233

October    Greenville County    SC

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve

image of Clethra acuminata, Mountain Sweet-pepperbush, Cinnamonbark, Cinnamon Clethra, Mountain White-alder

JK Marlow    jkm0511c_28

November    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Clethra acuminata   FAMILY Clethraceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Clethra acuminata   FAMILY Clethraceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Clethra acuminata

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 143-01-001:
Clethra acuminata   FAMILY Clethraceae

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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

345

Shrub
Perennial

Habitat: Moist forests, heath balds, streambanks, margins of rock outcrops at high elevations, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common in Mountains, rare in Piedmont

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

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Summer
White
5 sepals
5 petals
10 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule

 

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



 


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