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Clethra
Also called Sweet Pepperbush
Clethra is a genus of flowering shrubs or small trees erected as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753.
Clethra is one of two genera in the family Clethraceae (the other being Purdiaea). The species may be evergreen or deciduous, and all bear flowers in clusters (inflorescences), which correspond to racemes or panicles. The flowers are quite small, white or pinkish, and each bear five free petals, numerous stamens, and a three-chambered seed capsule. The leaves, simple, ovate, and alternate or opposite, bear characteristic stellate hairs. The seeds are very small and numerous.
Clethra species are native to a variety of habitats, including swamps, woodland, and rocky sites from temperate to tropical climates in eastern and southeastern Asia, Malesia, North and South America, and one species (C. arborea) on the Atlantic island of Madeira.
Mountain sweetpepperbush · Coastal sweetpepperbush · Lily Of The Valley Tree · Japanese Clethra · Clethra canescens var. clementis · Clethra longispicata · Clethra pachyphylla · Clethra scabra
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Clethra by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
