Relatives
Spiraea salicifolia L. - Bridewort Spiraea.
Taxonomic position.
Family Rosaceae Juss. genus Spiraea L.Morphology and biology.
Deciduous shrub up to 1,5-2 m tall with light brown erect shoots. Лиcтья Leaves entire, 2-10 cm long, 1-4 cm wide, oblong-ovate to oblong-lanceolate, acuminate at apex, acutely serrate or biserrate at margin, glabrous on both surfaces. Flowers aggregated in dense many-flowered, pyramidal or oval-cylindrical panicles 5-12 cm long located on ends of leafy shoots. Calyx glabrous or pubescent, sepals triangular, persistent at fruits. Corolla pink, 5-12 mm diameter. Stamens 2 times as long as petals. Fruit a multiple follicle. Follicles 4-5 mm long, glabrous. Entomophilous. Anemochore. Propagates by offshoots, root and summer cuttings. Flowers in late June - July, mature fruits in August - early September. 2n=36.Distribution.
West and East Siberia, Far East (except for Chukotka), Northern Mongolia, North-Eastern China, North Korea, Japan, Central Europe. Cultivated in many countries, escapes and naturalizes.Ecology.
Hygrophyte. Photophilous. Predominates in shrub thickets tending to river flood-plains, in inundated meadows, bogs. Along river valleys, reaches tundra zone and goes to mountains up to 1100-1300 m a.s.l.Use and economic value.
Melliferous, medicine, ornamental. Recommended for landscape gardening for solitary or clump planting.References:
Koropachinskiy IYu., Vstovskaya TN. 2002. Woody plants of the Asian part of Russia. Novosibirsk: Publishing House of Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Science, Branch "Geo". P.394-395. (In Russian).Poyarkova AI. 1939. Spiraea - Spiraea L. In: Komarov VL., Yuzepchuk SV., eds. Flora URSS. V.9. Moscow; Leningrad. P.286-287. (In Russian).
Sokolov SI., Svjaseva OA., Kubli VA. 1980. Ranges of trees and shrubs of the USSR. V.2. Leningrad: Nauka. P.42-43. (In Russian).