''Itea virginica'', commonly known as Virginia willow or Virginia sweetspire, is a small North American flowering shrub that grows in low-lying woods and wetland margins. Virginia willow is a member of the Iteaceae family, and native to the southeast United States. ''Itea virginica'' has small flowers on pendulous racemes. Depending on location, the species will bloom in late spring to early summer. It prefers moist rich soil, but it can tolerate a wide range of soil types. When Virginia willow is used in horticulture it can form large colonies and may form dense root suckers, making the shrub hard to remove.

Description

''Itea virginica'' is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

shrub that grows to tall and broad, with alternate, simple leaves on arching stems. The flowers are white or cream, borne in downward pointing slightly curved spikes, in summer. It is a multi-stemmed, suckering and colonizing plant, with the stems branching infrequently except at the tops. In favorable conditions it may become semi-evergreen. The leaves turn shades of red in fall (autumn). It is hardy down to at least .

Conservation

''Itea virginica'' has a current IUCN status of Least Concern. However, ''Itea virginica'' is considered extirpated in Pennsylvania and endangered in Indiana.

Taxonomy

''Itea virginica'' belongs to the Iteaceae, a family of deciduous and evergreen shrubs. It is the only species in its genus in North America; most ''Itea'' species are from east Asia. Some authors have historically placed Virginia sweetspire in the Grossulariaceae or Saxifragaceae families.

Horticulture

In cultivation in the UK the

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

‘Henry’s Garnet’ has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

’s Award of Garden Merit. ''Itea virginica'' is used as a native ornamental landscape plant in North America, and numerous cultivars have been named. The flowers attract pollinators, and the shrub can be used for erosion control.

References

''External links''

*Proven Winner

Saxifragales Flora of Alabama Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Trees of the Southeastern United States {{Saxifragales-stub