Common names:
Rose meadowsweet, subalpine spiraea, rosy spiraea
Family:
Scientific name:
Spiraea splendens
Synonym:
Spiraea densiflora
Main flower color:
Range:
North California, Oregon, Washington; east to Montana and northwest Wyoming
Height:
Up to 2 feet
Habitat:
Foothills to subalpine locations, in woodland or on open slopes
Leaves:
Oval, alternate, 1 to 2 inches long, a few coarse teeth at the tip
Season:
June to July
The reddish-brown branches of spiraea splendens, a small deciduous shrub, tend to hang down so the plant never becomes much more than 2 feet tall. Blooms appear in summer from the ends of the newer branches; rounded, flat-topped clusters of several dozen tiny, dark pink flowers, each with five sepals, five petals and many long stamens, projecting well beyond the corolla. Sepals are spreading or upwards-pointing, not bent back, like the similar spiraea douglasii.
The plant favors moist locations and is found over a wide area of the West, at elevations between 2,000 and 11,000 feet. Leaves are hairless or only slightly hairy, and the same on both surfaces.
The plant favors moist locations and is found over a wide area of the West, at elevations between 2,000 and 11,000 feet. Leaves are hairless or only slightly hairy, and the same on both surfaces.
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