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
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Mountain Sweet-pepperbush at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_clac3_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm130420_513
April Transylvania County NC
Foothills Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm130420_518
April Transylvania County NC
Foothills Trail
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm060723_167
July Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm220705_8913
July Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
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).
)
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.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_c_acuminata_7_23_06_5
July Towns-Union Counties GA
Brasstown Bald
)
JK Marlow jkm120815_729
August Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
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).
)
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.
COMPARE
leaves of Clethra and Itea
)
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.
)
JK Marlow jkm150827_877
August Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
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).
)
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).
)
JK Marlow jkm211027_4565
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm211027_4566
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm211027_4568
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm211027_4647
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm221004_0229
October Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm221004_0233
October Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
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
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
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!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p081
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p241
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p124
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p160
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p157
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p208
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p102
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p107
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p309
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p172
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p157
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p123
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p278
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p106
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