Coastal Sweet Pepperbush

Coastal sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) is a deciduous shrub in the family Clethraceae, native to the Atlantic coastal plain of eastern North America, from Maine south to Florida and west to Texas. It grows in coastal wetlands, swamp margins, pocosins, pine barrens, and the edges of freshwater and brackish marshes, typically in acidic, poorly drained soils. In summer, it produces fragrant spikes of small white flowers that attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators in abundance, giving it the alternate common name summer sweet. The glossy, toothed leaves turn golden yellow in autumn. Coastal sweet pepperbush is a rhizomatous shrub that spreads by suckering, forming dense thickets. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental for rain gardens, coastal landscapes, and pollinator plantings, valued for its fragrance and tolerance of wet, sandy, or infertile conditions. Its IUCN status is Not Evaluated; however, wild populations appear stable across the eastern coastal plain. The species serves important ecological functions as a pollinator resource in coastal plain habitats that are otherwise low in nectar-producing shrubs during midsummer.