Bridalwreath Spirea

Shrubs to 3 m. Branchlets red-brown, turning gray-brown to black-brown when old, slender, slightly angled, pubescent initially, later gradually glabrescent; buds ovoid, small, with several scales, glabrous, apex subobtuse or subacute. Petiole 2–4 mm, pubescent; leaf blade ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 1.5–3 × 0.7–1.4 cm, pubescent on both surfaces initially, later glabrescent adaxially or on both surfaces, or glabrous, pinnately veined, base cuneate, margin minutely sharply serrate from base or above middle to apex, or 1–4-serrate on each side near apex, apex acute. Umbels sessile, 2–3 × 1.5–3 cm, 3–6-flowered, with a few clustered leaves at base; pedicels 10–24 mm, pubescent; bracts leaflike, 4–7 × 3–5 mm, puberulous on both surfaces initially, finally glabrescent, apex indistinctly minutely serrate. Flowers single in wild plants, double in cultivated plants (var. prunifolia), to 1.2 cm in diam. Hypanthium campanulate, shorter than sepals, pubescent or glabrous abaxially. Sepals triangular or ovate-triangular, 1.5–2 mm, shorter than petals, apex acute. Petals white, obovate or suborbicular, longer than sepals, glabrous. Follicles glabrous, or pubescent along adaxial suture. Fl. Mar–May.

Anhui, Fujian, Guizhou, Guangdong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xizang, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea].

Thickets, slopes, rocks, steep dry cliffs, sunny places also commonly cultivated (var. prunifolia); near sea level to 1500 m.

Spiraea prunifolia Sieb. & Zucc. Fl. Jap. 1 : 131. 1835
A shrub, 1-3 m. high, upright with slender branches ; bark of these brown, at first fi.nely pubescent; leaves short-petioled ; blades 2-5 cm. long, ovate or elliptic, serrulate, softly pubescent beneath, glabrous or nearly so above ; flowers in 3-6-flowered umbels ; pedicels 1-3 cm. long; sepals ovate, obtuse, 1.5 mm. long; petals pure white, roundedobovate, 45 mm. long, exceeding the stamens; follicles glabrous, A cultivated form has double flowers on comparatively long pedicels and more shining leaves.
Type locality : Cultivated in Japanese gardens, probably from Korea or northern China. Distribution: Extensively cultivated and occasionally escaped in the New "England States.

Spiraea prunifolia, commonly called bridalwreath spirea, is a species of the genus Spiraea, sometimes also spelled Spirea. It flowers mid-spring, around May 5th, and is native to Japan, Korea, and China. It is sometimes cultivated as a garden plant elsewhere.