Cephalanthus occidentalis L.

Buttonbush, button-willow, honey-bells

About plant names...

This plant's cool-looking flowers fascinate me, and make for easy identification. Buttonbush is a North American native. It is found in wet areas such as lakeshores and habitats that are at least sometimes flooded, including swamps, river edges, and the Everglades.

Plants: This deciduous shrub is 3-9½' (1-3 m) high, rarely reaching 20' (6 m). with many dense branches.

Leaves: Glossy, dark green, opposite or in groups of three, and up to 8" (20 cm) long. Flowers begin life as bumpy light green balls about ¾" (2 cm) in diameter.

Flowers: Buttonbush flowers look so unusual at every stage of development, and are visible during so much of the summer, that this alone is usually enough to identify the plant. Minute horn-shaped white or pale yellow flowers cover the surface, extending tiny sepal-bearing pistils. The flowerheads look like perfectly spherical softly bristled cream-colored balls up to 1¼" (3.5 cm) around, each on a long stem (petiole).

Fruits: As the flowers age, they form hard brown seed balls—clusters of achenes—that look like bumpy brown cherries.

Edibility: Poisonous This shrub is poisonous to livestock.

Online References:

Www.carolinanature.com

The University of Connecticut Plant Database

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The Missouri Botanical Garden

The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Wikipedia

7/11/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 4" (13 × 11 cm)

7/11/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 3½" (12 × 9.4 cm)

4/14/2015 · Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park, Florida
≈ 4½ × 3" (11 × 7.9 cm)

This flower is past its prime. · 7/30/2017 · Jason’s Cutoff and Nearby Trails, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)

7/9/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 3" (8.8 × 7.9 cm)

7/3/2012 · By Jacquelyn Boyt

7/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 11 × 7" (27 × 18 cm)

Cephalanthus occidentalis description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

7/27/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 11 × 8" (28 × 20 cm)

7/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

9/11/2011 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 2 × 2½" (5.7 × 6.9 cm)

4/11/2015 · Big Cypress Bend, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Florida
≈ 12 × 10" (30 × 25 cm)

8/30/2010 · Old RR bed near Wilkins Farm, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm)

10/23/2010
≈ 24 × 19" (61 × 48 cm)

4/11/2015 · Big Cypress Bend, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Florida
≈ 10 × 7" (25 × 16 cm)

4/11/2015 · Big Cypress Bend, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Florida
≈ 10 × 7" (25 × 16 cm)

7/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)

7/16/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

Range:

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