58 HANDBOOK 14 8, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



flowers and seed pods tiny, many, in showy, 

 flattish-topped or elongate end clusters dis- 

 tinctive even at a distance. 



spireas, also called hardhack, 



meadow-sweet, steeplebush (Spiraea spp.). 



23. Leaves hairless or nearly so, paler green or 



with whitish "bloom" on under surface, 



lowest pair of side veins attached so near 



base of midrib that leaf appears 3-veined. 



24. Flowers white, in flattish-topped end 



clusters; leaves shiny on upper surface, 



oval to reversely egg-shaped, to 3 inches 



long; stems erect, to 3 feet high, from 



trailing, shallow, woody rootstocks, often 



dying down to near base in winter; bark 



shiny, tan to brown; dry hillsides, open 



woods; commonest spirea of middle 



altitudes, e. Oreg., e. Wash. 



shinyleaf spirea (Spiraea lucida). n 

 24. Flowers pink to rose. 



25. Flower and seed-pod clusters flattish- 

 topped; leaves oval to elliptic, to 2 

 inches long; stems much-branched, to 

 3 feet high; bark dark red-brown; 

 bushy shrubs growing separately or in 

 patches, on rocky ridges or with lodge- 

 pole or western white pine at higher 

 altitudes; Cascades, Blue and Wallowa 



Mts., e. Oreg subalpine spirea 



(Spiraea densi flora). 



25. Flower, seed-pod clusters spikelike to 



pyramidal; leaves elliptic, rounded or 



wedge-shaped at base, to 4 inches long, 



thin, often a little hairy; in patches, 



moist stream sites, both sides of 



Cascades, Blue Mts., e. Oreg., se. 



Wash.; type locality, northwest coast. 



Menzies spirea (Spiraea menziesii). 



23. Leaves finely white-woolly-hairy on under 



surface, leathery, to 4 inches long, elliptic 



to oblong or oval, rounded or pointed at 



ends; flowers rose-colored, in pyramidal 



clusters; stems, branches erect, to 8 feet 



tall ; twigs finely white-woolly-hairy, striped, 



reddish brown; often thicket-forming, 



spreading by suckers; wet sites, mostly w. 



of Cascades, Oreg., Wash.; type locality, 



nw. coast near Columbia River. 



Douglas spirea (Spiraea douglasii). 



1 White- and rose-flowered spireas sometimes crossbreed naturally, the resulting 

 hybrids with variously mixed and intergrading characters; such hybrids are 

 reported from Yakima River near Cle Elum, and from Falcon Valley, Wash. 

 The rose-colored spireas also crossbreed naturally, with many intermediate forms 

 reportedly growing near the Cascades of the Columbia River, and also along the 

 Hood River in Oregon. 



