MEADOW-SWEET.
Spiræa discolor, Pursh. Rose Family.
Shrubs two to six feet high. Leaves.—Alternate; short-petioled; an inch or two long; oval or ovate; crenately lobed above; the lobes often toothed; silky pubescent beneath. Flowers.—White; two lines across; in feathery panicles several inches long. Calyx.—Five-parted; petaloid. Petals.—Five; equaling the sepals. Stamens.—About twenty. Pistils.—Five; distinct; one-celled. Hab.—Coast Ranges, mostly from Monterey County northward.
Not until midsummer is upon us does the common meadow-sweet make itself noticeable by its large feathery clusters of minute white flowers, which have a pleasant odor, reminiscent of slippery-elm.
We have two species of Spiræa with pink flowers—S. Douglasii, Hook., the Californian hardhack, having its blossoms in long clusters, (found in Northern California,) and S. betulifolia, Pall., having flat-topped flower-clusters, (found in the Sierras).
Another shrub closely resembling the Spiræas is Neillia opulifolia, Benth. and Hook., the wild bridal-wreath, or ninebark. Indeed, this has been classed by some authorities among the Spiræas. It may be easily recognized by its hemispherical clusters of white flowers. These clusters are an inch or two across. Though the shrub is quite showy when in bloom, it is almost equally attractive when its carpels are beginning to redden.