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Spiraea thunbergii
Also called Thunberg's Spiraea, Thunberg Spiraea, Thunberg's Bridewort
Thunberg's meadowsweet is a small, long-lived deciduous to semi-deciduous shrub with thin, arching stems and abundant white flowers in spring and early summer. It is hardy and easy to grow in full sun in a mixed border.
Spiraea thunbergii, commonly known as Thunberg spiraea or Thunberg's meadowsweet, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family, native to East China and Japan, and widely cultivated elsewhere.
Spiraea thunbergii is grown as an ornamental plant in temperate regions. It is hardy and easy to grow in a sunny mixed border. In the UK it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
This plant produces phytotoxic cis-cinnamoyl glucosides and cis-cinnamic acid. The plant-growth inhibition characteristics can be used against diverse species as lettuce (Lactuca sativa), pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus), red clover (Trifolium pratense), timothy (Phleum pratense), and bok choy (Brassica rapa var chinensis). The characteristics of these natural chemicals indicate a potential role of cis-cinnamic acid and its glucosides as allelochemicals (chemicals, released from plants, that cause an interaction between plants and other living organisms) for use as plant growth regulators and weed suppression in agricultural fields and natural ecosystems.
Reeves' meadowsweet · Spiraea crenata · Iberian spirea · Japanese meadowsweet · Russian Spiraea · Snowmound Spiraea · Bridalwreath spirea · Willowleaf meadowsweet · Spirea
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Spiraea thunbergii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
