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

Spiraea tomentosa var. rosea

INCLUDING Flora of North America

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
Spiraea tomentosa var. rosea

INCLUDING Flora of North America
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.

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
Alternate

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

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Aggregate of 5 follicles

 

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



 


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