Plant Family: Rosaceae
Growth Form: Attractive shrub to 2 meters tall that forms low thickets.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, toothed, elliptic, 4 – 7 cm long, 2 – 4 cm wide.
Bark: New twigs are green, older stems purple-brown.
Flowers: White tinged with pink, with 5 rounded petals and numerous protruding stamens, held on showy panicles; rachis of panicles smooth; June to Sept.
Fruits: Pod-like follicles that split open when ripe to release the seeds, Sept. to Oct.
Habitat: Swamps, bogs, streambanks, swales, mountain notches and ravines.
Range: Found throughout New England, ranging north into Canada, west to the Dakotas, and south in the mountains to Georgia.
Similar Species: The variety S. alba var. alba has narrower lanceolate leaves 1 – 2 cm wide, stems yellow-brown, and the rachis of the flower clusters is hairy. It is not as common as variety latifolia in New England.
Comments: Various cultivars of Meadowsweet are popular with gardeners. The abundant flowers attract a host of pollinators and the shrubs are resistant to browsing deer. The hollow branches were historically used as pipe stems.
