Virginia Sweetspire, Tassel-White (Itea virginica L.)

Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family)

USDA Native Status: Native to U.S.

Virginia sweetspire is a mound-shaped, slender-branched, deciduous shrub to 8 ft. Small, white flowers bloom in 4 in. spires that droop with the arching branches. Flowers open from base to tip so that the plant appears to bloom for a long time. Leaves turn red to purple in fall and persist well into the winter. This plant is semi-evergreen in the southern part of its range.

Photographic Location: Fall Creek Falls State Park TN.

The long tassels of white flowers and red fall foliage make this an attractive ornamental. Most effective in massed plantings, as single plants tend to be scraggly.