Spiraea. 123 



The leaves are oblong and glabrous, two to three inches 

 in length, with serrated edges. The flowers are in upright 

 terminal panicles or cymes, and appear in July, continuing 

 through August. It is probably more largely cultivated 

 in Europe than in the country of its nativity. The steeple- 

 bush or hardhack, 61 tomentosa, is another common sort, 

 two to three feet high, which grows freely in most parts 

 of the United States. The stems are brown, smooth, and 

 thickly studded with oblong leaves bright green above 

 and whitish beneath. The flowers are in a dense, tapering 

 panicle, spiral in form, appearing in July and continuing 

 several weeks. They are usually of a purplish-rose color, 

 and quite showy. 



6". prunifolia flore plena, the double-flowering, plum- 

 leaved spiraea, is a shrub of the highest value. It was 

 introduced to European cultivation by Dr. Siebold, who 

 found it growing in Japanese gardens, though its native 

 country is said to be China or Corea. It grows from six 

 to ten feet high, in bushy form, and with numerous long, 

 slender branches covered with smooth bark often divid- 

 ing into thin scales. The leaves are lanceolate, small, 

 and numerous, smooth above and downy on the under 

 side, and take on beautiful autumn tints. The double 

 white flowers come forth in early spring, covering the 

 whole length of the arching branches. This species is 

 more widely distributed than most of the others. S. 

 trilobata is a native of the Altaian Alps, and has three- 

 lobed foliage. It is of somewhat diminutive proportions, 

 about two feet high, and produces a multitude of small 

 white flowers in compact, umbel-like corymbs, appearing 



