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Spiraea alba

Common name:	White Meadowsweet	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	Du Roi.	Botanical references:	11, 200, 228
Synonyms:	Spiraea salicifolia paniculata (Aiton.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	North-eastern N. America - Ontario to New York, North Carolina, Saskatchewan, Indiana and Missouri.
Habitat:	Moist meadows, marshes, moist open low woodlands, often in sandy soils[228].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Hardhack, Meadowsweet [S], Narrowleaf Spiraea [DEN1], Steeplebush [L], White Meadowsweet [P,B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	alba = white;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 1.5m. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Tea.

An infusion of the leaves tastes like China tea[207].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Tonic.

An infusion of the leaves is esteemed as a restorative tonic[207].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Tolerates most soils[200], but prefers a good loamy soil, abundant moisture and full sunlight[11, 200].
This species is closely related to S. salicifolia and is often treated as no more than a variety of it[11].
Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus[11].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame if possible. It is likely to require stratification before it germinates, so stored seed should be sown in a cold frame as early in the year as you receive it. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a light sandy soil a frame.
Cuttings of mature wood of the current seasons growth, 15cm long, October/November in an outdoor frame[200]. Another report says that September is a good time to do this[11].
Division of suckers in early spring[200]. They can be planted out straight into their permanent positions.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[228] McGregor. R. L. & Barkley. T. M. Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas. 1986 ISBN 070060295x
A useful source of habitats.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Spiraea+alba
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Spiraea+alba

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.