The spireas, sometimes called meadowsweet or steeplebusli, are 

 attractive shrubs belonging to the large and important rose family 

 (Rosaceae). The TO or more species are widely distributed in the 

 temperate and cooler climates of the Northern Hemisphere. About 

 10 species are native to western North America, several being widely 

 scattered through the mountains of most of the Western States. The 

 generic name is dem r ed from gpeirala, a name used by the Greek 

 philosopher Theophrastus for an Old World species of meadowsweet, 

 or spirea, having spirally twisted (Greek speira, a coil or spiral) pods. 

 Spiraea is said to have been introduced into more modern botany, as 

 a generic name, by the eminent Belgian physician-botanist Clusius 

 (1526-1609). 



The spireas are deciduous shrubs, with slender, erect or spreading, 

 usually scaly-barked stems. Douglas spirea ($. dougla'sii) and the 

 other erect species characteristically grow in patches, but with the 

 stems distinct, rarely branched and bushlike. The species with 

 spreading stems, such as subalpine spirea (S. d&nsifto' 'ra) , may also 

 form patches, but more often grow as individual, low and many- 

 stemmed shrubs. Spirea leaves lack bractlike appendages (stipules) 

 at base of the leafstalks; they are alternate, short-stalked, simple 

 (occasionally lobed) t strongly veined on the under side, and usually 

 saw-toothed (especially above the middle). The flowers of the native 

 western species are very small (commonly less than one-eighth of an 

 inch long), have five sepals and five petals, and many protruding 

 stamens. They may be white, pink, or rose-colored, but are always 

 numerous and crowded into showy, dense, flat-topped or elongated 

 flower clusters at the ends of the stems or twigs. The fruit consists of 

 a cluster of usually five small pods (follicles), which are not inflated, 

 each containing several seeds. 



Most of the spireas prefer deep, fertile, and moist soils, but some 

 species are also common in bogs, on moist rocky slopes, and even in 

 dry sites. They appear on exposures varying from warm and sunny 

 to cool and shaded, nearly all the western species growing under this 

 wide range of conditions. In the West, the genus is most common at 

 middle elevations in the mountains and is most abundant in the moist, 

 Douglas fir region of the Northwest. Common associated shrubs are 

 roses, huckleberries, willows, and snowberries. 



Although spireas are low, leafy, and usually accessible to livestock, they are 

 of minor value for forage. Their range importance js primarily due to their 

 wide distribution and abundance. For some reason, possibly because of the 

 presence of a volatile oil containing bitter salicylic aldehyde, 1 the foliage is 

 of low palatability. The leaves remain attached to the plants longer than in 

 most deciduous species, and this may account for the moderate fall use some- 

 times obtained, but generally the members of this genus are regarded as prac- 

 tically worthless for cattle and poor to fair for sheep. The low value is some- 

 times shown by the presence of little-used spirea on overgrazed ranges, espe- 

 cially in or bordering depleted meadows where cattle concentrate. 



Spireas, as a class, are showy plants when in bloom and add to the beauty 

 and recreational value of woodland areas. Many of the species, both native 

 and introduced, are cultivated as ornamentals, being prized for their attrac- 

 tive foliage and bloom. The species are hardy and flourish under a greater 



1 Wood, II. C., Remington, J. P., and Sadtler, S. P., assisted by Lyons, A. B., and Wood, 



H. C-, Jr. THE DISPENSATORY OF THE UNITED STATES OP AMERICA,, BY DR. GEO. B. WOOD 



AND DR. FRANKLIN EACHE. Ed. 19, thoroughly rev. and largely rewritten . . . 1,947 pp, 

 Philadelphia and London. 1907. 



