Itea virginica (Virginia Sweetspire)

Native to the eastern United States, from New Jersey south to Florida and west to Missouri and Texas, this spreading deciduous shrub grows in low woods, swamps, and stream margins. Its alternate, elliptic leaves have finely toothed edges. Slender racemes of small white, five-petaled flowers develop at branch ends in late spring and early summer. Narrow, two-lobed capsules persist after flowering. Its foliage develops red, orange or gold autumn colours, and root suckers can form dense colonies. Cultivated for its seasonal foliage and fragrant flowers, which attract pollinators, it tolerates periodic flooding and is suitable for rain gardens. Photographed in Ecuador.