• Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Clethra alnifolia

sweet pepperbush

Nomenclature

Common Name:

sweet pepperbush

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Clethra alnifolia

Family:

Clethraceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

3-10 ft tall by 2-5 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms in spring. Moderately long-lived (Nelson 2003).

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Aroma/Showy Fruitsagrance

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Hedges, back borders. Blooms in summer.

Considerations:

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Availability:

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Propagation:

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Light:

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Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Stays wet -to- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salt.

Soil or Other Substrate:

Soil pH:

acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Birds, Mammals

Attracts butterflies and bees which have evolved to take advantage of narrow, tubular flowers. 

Attracts hummingbirds.





Birds and other small wildlife consume the seed ( https://wildflower.org ) 

Native Habitats:

Moist-wet areas, acid soils. Wet flatwoods, savannas, swamps, stream banks, bogs, other wet areas.

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

The herbarium specimen from Polk County almost certainly has a wrong location.  Lithia is in Hillsborough County and the most likely translation of a wrongly written latitude and longitude is also in Hillsborough County -- but the exact location would have been agricultural in 1962.