Japanese spiraea

Spiraea japonica is a small to medium-sized deciduous shrub of the rose family growing 1-2 m tall with erect to slightly arching, finely pubescent stems forming a dense rounded clump. Leaves are alternate, ovate to lanceolate, 2-8 cm long, with sharply and irregularly doubly serrate margins, dark green above and somewhat paler and finely pubescent beneath, often flushed bronzy or reddish as they emerge in spring. Inflorescences are flat-topped to slightly domed terminal corymbs 5-15 cm across crowded with numerous tiny five-petalled flowers each 4-6 mm across; petal colour ranges from pale pink through deep rose to occasional white in cultivars, and the prominent darker stamens project well beyond the petals giving the heads a fuzzy appearance. Fruits are small dehiscent follicles in groups of five. Native to Japan, Korea, and parts of China in moist mountain woodlands, the species is widely cultivated as a landscape shrub and has become naturalised in eastern North America and parts of Europe. Flowering takes place in summer.