buttonbush Rubiaceae Cephalanthus occidentalis

Leaf:Opposite or whorled, elliptical, pointed tip, entire margins, 3 to 5 inches long, shiny dark green above.
Flower:Small, white tubular flowers occur in a dense round (1 inch across) cluster at the end of a slender 1 to 2 inch stalk, appear mid-summer.
Fruit:Round cluster of nuttlets (each 1/4'' long), dark brown, mature late summer to fall.
Twig:Slender to moderately stout, dark reddish brown, speckled with lighter, elongated lenticels; tips of twigs typically die back; lateral buds small and embedded in bark, leaf scar "D"-shaped or nearly round with a single "U"-shaped bundle scar.
Bark:Thin and smooth on young stems, becoming fissured and scaly.
Form:Upright, multiple branching shrub, may reach 25 feet in height.

leaf flower fruit twig bark form map

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