Clethra tomentosa ‘Woodlander's Sarah’ Allen Bush fringed panicles of pure white

fringed panicles of pure white

mucilaginous roots as a soothing demulcent

Native to China

fills the great majority of the spice jars labeled simply cinnamon

Clethra tomentosa ‘Woodlander's Sarah’ Allen Bush fringed panicles of pure whiteThe summersweets are among the most fragrant of American shrubs, and the southern woolly summersweet, Clethra tomentosa, carries the whole tribe's gifts: colonies of upright stems in moist, acid ground, and terminal spikes of white flowers that pour a honey and clove perfume across the July garden. Country people knew the plant as Sweet Pepperbush, for the peppercorn seed heads, and the crushed flowers even raise a soft lather once used as a woodland