Specimen record
Sweet Pepperbush
Clethra alnifolia
Description
A deciduous native shrub of pond margins and swampy areas, sweet pepperbush fills the summer air with an intensely sweet, spicy fragrance from its upright spikes of small white flowers. It is one of the most aromatic native shrubs in New England and a valuable late-summer nectar source for bees and butterflies. The distinctive small pepper-like seed capsules persist through winter.
Identification tips
- 1Upright terminal racemes of small, fragrant white flowers in mid-to-late July
- 2Alternate, obovate leaves with sharply toothed margins and wedge-shaped base
- 3Intensely sweet, spicy fragrance detectable from several meters away
- 4Small round pepper-like seed capsules persisting through winter on brown spikes
- 5Multi-stemmed shrub 1–3 m tall in wet habitats near ponds and streams
Specimen & preservation notes
Press a branch with a flowering spike and several leaves. Note the fragrance on the label — it is entirely lost during drying. Collect winter specimens with persistent seed capsules for a second herbarium sheet.
Habitats
Collection calendar
| Wk | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||
| 4 |
Collection notes
Season check
Guide window matches observed bloom.
Flowering records: 559 iNaturalist observations, Massachusetts · Nearby: 1343 observations within 25 km