1 02 ROSACEAE 



There are over 80 species of meadowsweet, all natives of 

 the north temperate zone. In North America some 18 species 

 occur, but only 2 are native in Illinois. The Bridal Wreath, 

 Thunberg Spirea, and others are commonly cultivated, because 

 of their decorative value, and are familiar to almost everyone. 



Key to the Meadowsweet Species 



Leaves not tomentose beneath, flowers white S. alba 



Leaves tomentose beneath, flowers pink or purplish... S. tomentosa 



SPIRAEA ALBA Du Roi 

 Meadow Spirea Narrow-Leaved Meadowsweet 



The Meadow Spirea, fig. 22, is an erect shrub that grows 

 generally about 3 feet high, but may become 6 feet tall, with 

 light brown branches and stems and narrowly oblanceolate 

 leaves. The leaf blades are 1 to ly'z inches long and Yz to Y^ inch 

 wide, acute or, rarely, rounded at the apex, wedge shaped at 

 the base, and smooth or sparingly pubescent both above and be- 

 low. The leaf margins are sharply serrate. Sometimes upper 

 leaves are almost sessile and lower leaves have petioles up to 

 Y% inch long. 



The flowers occur in terminal panicles, which may be li/^ to 5 

 inches long. The peduncle and calyx of the flowers and the 

 branches of the panicle are more or less densely pubescent. The 

 white flowers appear in July and August, and the fruit, which 

 matures in the autumn, consists, for each flower, of 5 smooth 

 follicles containing 2 to 5 seeds less than i s inch in length. 



Distribution. — The Meadow Spirea, which is almost always 

 an inhabitant of low ground, is distributed from Ontario west- 

 ward to Saskatchewan and southward to South Carolina and 

 Mississippi. Its range includes the entire state of Illinois, and 

 it is to be found throughout the state in suitable situations, al- 

 though it is rare south of the Ozarks. 



SPIRAEA TOMENTOSA Linnaeus 



Hardback Steeplebush 



The Hardback, fig. 22, is an erect, tomentose shrub, gener- 

 ally about 3 feet tall, with ovate-lanceolate leaves, which are 

 dark green above and densely white or rusty tomentose below. 



