Skip to main content

Willowleaf meadowsweet (Spiraea salicifolia)

Willowleaf meadowsweet Description: Used for its medicinal properties.

Habit: Erect; grows up to 2 m (6 ft) in height.

Leaves: 1-3 in long, alternate, simple, sharply serrated leaves.

Stems: Dense; yellowish brown; slightly angled; pubescent when young, later glabrescent; buds ovoid to oblong-ovoid, 3-5 mm, with several brown scales, apex acute.

Flowers: Pink in color, 1-4 in panicle, blooms June through September.

Fruit and seeds: Fruits are follicles that develop in summer.

Habitat: Native to Europe and east Asia. Found in river banks, meadows in valleys, damp grasslands, gullies, slopes, clearings.

Reproduction: By seed.

Similar species: Rose spirea (Spiraea douglasii).

Monitoring and rapid response: Hand-pulling of yearling shoots; digging up of root system if left too long; close cutting during hot temperatures.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from the Hortipedia plant database, North Carolina State University and the USDA PLANTS Database.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org).Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).


Common Name:

Willowleaf meadowsweet

Scientific Name:

Spiraea salicifolia

Family:

Rosaceae
(Rose)

Duration:

Perennial

Habit:

Shrubs

USDA Symbol:

SPSA2