WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 1 29 



Rose Family 



Rosaceae 

 Meadowsweet; Quaker Lady 



Spiraea latifolia (Aiton) Borkhausen 



Plate 9,la 



An erect shrub, 2 to 6 feet high, usually more or less branched above 

 and smooth with reddish stems. Leaves short petioled, blades oblanceolate 

 or obovate, glabrous or nearly so, coarsely toothed, i to 2 inches long, one- 

 half to i^ inches wide, usually larger on young shoots, obtuse or slightly 

 pointed at the apex, rounded or tapering at the base, pale beneath. Flowers 

 white or pinkish, in dense terminal panicles, each flower about one-fourth 

 of an inch broad or less; petals four or five, inserted on the calyx; stamens 

 numerous. Pistils commonly five, alternate with the calyx lobes. 



In moist or rocky places, in open woods, or in old meadows and along 

 roadsides, Newfoundland to Saskatchewan, Virginia and western Penn- 

 sylvania. Flowering from June to August. 



The Narrow-leaved Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba Du Roi) has 

 yellowish brown branches, narrowly oblanceolate to oblong leaves and 

 white flowers. It is much less abundant than Spiraea latifolia, 

 and is found in wet soil, Ontario to New York, south to North Carolina, 

 west to Indiana, Missouri and Saskatchewan. 



Hardback; Steeplebush 



Spiraea tomentosa Linnaeus 



Plate 94a 



Erect, shrubby and perennial at least below, the tops usually dying 

 back, I to 3 feet tall, usually simple; stems floccose-pubescent. Leaves 

 short petioled, ovate or oval, i to 2 inches long, one-half to i inch wide, 

 unequally toothed, blunt or pointed at the apex, narrowed or rounded 

 at the base, smooth and dark green above, woolly-pubescent with whitish 

 hairs beneath. Flowers pink or purplish, rarely white, in dense terminal 



