Itea (plant)

Itea is a genus of about 10 species of shrubs and small trees, commonly called sweetspires. The leaves are alternate. Flowers are small, with 5 sepals and 5 petals, borne in racemes or spikes.

Itea
Itea ilicifolia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Iteaceae
Genus: Itea
L.
Type species
Itea virginica
L.

The genus is native to eastern Asia, with one deciduous species from eastern North America.

Some species are grown in ornamental gardens for their long pendant and fragrant flower heads. These include the evergreen I. ilicifolia and I. yunnanensis from central and western China. A different, more upright growing characteristic can be found in the deciduous I. virginica of eastern North America.

Species include:[1]

  • Itea chinensis Hook. & Arn. – Chinese sweetspire[2]
  • Itea ilicifolia Oliv. – holly-leaved sweet spire
  • Itea japonica Oliv. – Japanese sweetspire[3]
  • Itea oldhamii C. K. Schneid.
  • Itea parviflora Hemsl.
  • Itea rhamnoides (Harv.) Kubitzki[4]
  • Itea virginica L. – Virginia sweetspire
  • Itea yunnanensis Franch.

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Itea.
  1. "GRIN Species Records of Itea". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  2. "Itea chinensis". North Carolina Extension: Plant Gardener Toolbox. N.C. Cooperative Extension. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  3. Flint, Harrison L. (1997). Landscape Plants for Eastern North America. Wiley. p. 287. ISBN 9780471599197.
  4. Mucina, L. (2018). "Classifying Subtropical Forests of South Africa: Data Sources and Methods". Vegetation Survey and Classification of Subtropical Forests of Southern Africa. Geobotany Studies. Springer, Cham. pp. 7–46. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-67831-3_2. ISBN 978-3-319-67830-6. Nomenclature crosswalk between names used in Mucina et al. (2007) report and the current book. This crosswalk captures nomenclature changes during the period 2007–2017 in South African taxonomic literature. Current name = name in Mucina et al. (2007): Itea rhamnoides = Choristylis rhamnoides
  • European Garden Flora, vol. 4.
  • Hillier; Manual of Trees and Shrubs.


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