FNPS Plant Database

Clethra alnifolia

sweet pepperbush
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

sweet pepperbush

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Clethra alnifolia

Family:

Clethraceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

3-10 ft tall by 2-5 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms in spring. Moderately long-lived (Nelson 2003).

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Aroma/Showy Fruitsagrance

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Hedges, back borders. Blooms in summer.

Considerations:

Availability:

Quality Nurseries, Native Nurseries

Propagation:

Seed, division or softwood cuttings

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun, Shade

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Stays wet -to- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salt.

Soil or Other Substrate:

Soil pH:

acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

Don't know your zone? Click here to search by zip code.

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Birds, Mammals

Attracts butterflies and bees which have evolved to take advantage of narrow, tubular flowers. 

Attracts hummingbirds.





Birds and other small wildlife consume the seed ( https://wildflower.org ) 

Native Habitats:

Moist-wet areas, acid soils. Wet flatwoods, savannas, swamps, stream banks, bogs, other wet areas.

Natural Range in Florida:

Loading Florida counties…

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

The herbarium specimen from Polk County almost certainly has a wrong location.  Lithia is in Hillsborough County and the most likely translation of a wrongly written latitude and longitude is also in Hillsborough County -- but the exact location would have been agricultural in 1962.  

Citations:

Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell. (1999). Native Florida Plants. Gulf Publishing Company. Houston, TX.


Nelson, Gil. (2003). Florida's Best Landscape Plants: 200 Readily Available Species for Homeowners and Professionals. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


North Carolina State Extension. (Undated). North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. ( https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/ ). North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University, Greensboro, NC.


Osorio, Rufino. (2001). A Gardener's Guide to Florida's Native Plants. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


University of Tennessee Extension Service. (2010). Desired pH Range and salt tolerance of common nursery plants. ( https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2021/10/Desired-pH-Range-List.pdf ). Accessed 2025. University of Tennessee Extension, Knoxville.


Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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