Sweet Pepperbush
Clethra alnifolia
The dried seed capsules resemble peppercorns, which earned the plant its name, though they are not used as a culinary spice.
- Scientific name
- Clethra alnifolia
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Ericales › Clethraceae › Clethra
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Coastal swamps, marshes, stream banks, and damp woodland edges.
- Diet
- Photosynthetic autotroph (sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide).
- Range
- Eastern North America, Maine to Florida, Gulf Coast to Texas, Nova Scotia
- Size
- 1.5 to 3 meters (5 to 10 feet) tall
- Lifespan
- 20-50 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Wetland drainage, coastal development, and competition from invasive wetland flora.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. This plant is safe to touch and its flowers are highly fragrant. It is non-toxic to touch, though as with any wild plant, ingestion is not recommended unless expert identification is confirmed.
Clethra alnifolia , the coastal sweetpepperbush or summersweet , is a species of flowering plant in the genus Clethra of the family Clethraceae, native to eastern North America from southern Nova Scotia and Maine south to northern Florida, and west to eastern Texas.
Photo: Photo by David J. Stang, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/acd3ff30-5808-43ac-b625-164a9d05958d.md