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dwarf spiraea, shinyleaf meadowsweet

Habit Shrubs, 3–10(–15) dm.
Stems

erect to arching, branched.

Leaves

petiole 3–8 mm, sparsely hairy;

blade ovate to elliptic or suborbiculate, 2–10 × 1–2.5 cm, coriaceous, base obtuse, rounded, or subcordate, margins irregularly, coarsely and sharply doubly serrate from midpoint to apex, teeth acute and mucronate, number of primary and secondary serrations 1 times number of secondary veins (excluding inter-secondary veins), venation pinnate cladodromous, secondary veins not prominent, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded, abaxial surface mostly glabrous, adaxial glabrous.

Inflorescences

mostly terminal, corymbiform, 2–5 × 3–10 cm height 0.4–1.1 times diam.;

branches rarely in axils of leaves, glabrous or glabrate.

Pedicels

1–3 mm, glabrous or glabrate.

Flowers

4–7 mm diam.;

hypanthia hemispheric, 0.8–1 mm, abaxial surface glabrous or pubescent, adaxial glabrous;

sepals triangular, 0.5–1 mm;

petals chalky white to pink, orbiculate, 1.3–1.5 mm;

staminodes 5–15 reduced to serrations;

stamens 15–20, 2 times petal length.

Follicles

nearly fusiform, 2–3 mm, shiny, glabrous.

2n

= 36.

Spiraea corymbosa

Phenology Flowering May–Oct; fruiting Jun–Nov.
Habitat Open rocky soil, rocky, lightly wooded sites, dry or fast draining slopes, rocky edges of woods
Elevation 0–500 m (0–1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
GA; MA; MD; NC; NJ; PA; TN; VA; WV; NS; ON [Introduced in e Europe]
Discussion

H. A. Gleason and A. Cronquist (1963) and L. J. Uttal (1974) considered Spiraea corymbosa to be a variety of S. betulifolia. K. Sax (1936) found S. corymbosa to be a triploid with complete pollen sterility and hypothesized that it must exist as a diploid, or form viable egg cells, because it is involved in hybrids. If so, these cytological differences may be correlated with some morphological variation.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 403.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Spiraeeae > Spiraea
Sibling taxa
S. alba, S. cantoniensis, S. chamaedryfolia, S. douglasii, S. japonica, S. lucida, S. prunifolia, S. salicifolia, S. splendens, S. stevenii, S. thunbergii, S. tomentosa, S. virginiana, S. ×hitchcockii, S. ×pyramidata, S. ×vanhouttei
Synonyms S. betulifolia var. corymbosa, S. ostryfolia, S. repens, S. sororia
Name authority Rafinesque: Précis Découv. Somiol., 36. (1814)
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