Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Spiraea japonica

Family

Rosaceae

Flowering season

June to September

English distribution

It is found mainly in the area stretching from Greater

London to Oxfordshire, and is scattered throughout

the rest of the country.

See the BSBI distribution map for Japanese Spiraea.

Habitat

It is a neophyte which has been grown in UK gardens since

the 1850s.

The naturalised escape has been known as in the wild

since the early 1900s.

It grows on waste ground, tips, scrub, heaths and

brownfield sites, by roads, and in hedges, scrub, quarries

and relic gardens.

Description

Japanese Spiraea is a deciduous shrub growing up to 1.5m.

The flowerheads are dark pink and flat topped.

Individual flowers have 5 broad, light pink petals.

There is a dark pink concave receptacle.

There are numerous stamens which are longer than the

petals.

The filaments are pink and the anthers lilac.

There are 5 pink styles with pale, capitate stigmas.

Leaves are yellow green, toothed and alternate.

Stems are dark brown, branched and wiry.