Myriad Botanical Gardens - Oklahoma City, USA

Common name: Summersweet

Family: Clethraceae (White Alder family)

Distribution: North America

Life form: Deciduous shrub/sub-shrub

Comments: A sweet, syrupy scent permeates the air surrounding summersweet shrubs when they bloom in summer. The nectar-rich flowers attract swarms of bees and butterflies. The cultivar 'Ruby Spice' is known for its fragrant rose-pink flowers in late summers. It reaches 5 to 6 feet in height and prefers moist soil and some shade.