Clethra — Sweet Pepper-Bush. n 



attract attention. The racemes, which stand erect above 

 the bright, glossy leaves, begin to open in July and con- 

 tinue until October, thus supplying the dullest period of 

 the summer, so far as hardy shrubs are concerned, with 

 abundant blossoms of the highest value. They are withal 

 exceedingly sweet-scented, giving forth an odor not at all 

 disagreeable, but such as makes the plant popularly known 

 as the sweet pepper-bush. It does well in half-shady 

 situations, and cannot be too highly praised for use in 

 landscape work, whether grown in masses or as single 

 specimens. 



C. acuminata is also a native of the United States, 

 and is often seen growing on the mountains of North 

 Carolina and other similar locations, where it usually 

 appears as a small shrub of from four to six feet. It is 

 not much known to cultivation in this country, though 

 planted in English gardens and on the continent, where 

 it is quite a favorite. It is there spoken of as a plant 

 growing in tree form, and from ten to fifteen feet high. 

 The leaves are more oval than those of the preceding, and 

 more sharply pointed, having a bluish cast above and be- 

 ing slightly glaucous beneath. The flower spikes are large 

 and conspicuous, though not superior to those of alnifolia. 

 C. paniculata is also a good plant, but in nowise superior 

 to those already described, the chief distinction being in 

 the form of the flowers, which are gathered in panicles 

 not quite so compact, and slight differences in the shape 

 of the leaves, C. arborea is a more tender species, and 

 has been long grown in English greenhouses, though it 

 usually thrives when planted outside, if afforded ample 



