Virginia Tech Dendrology

fivepetal cliffbush Hydrangeaceae Jamesia americana Torr. & A. Gray symbol: JAAM
Leaf: Opposite, simple, deciduous, ovate, to 1 1/2 inches long, serrate, green with sunken veins above, fuzzy white below.
Flower: Showy, white or tinged with pink, to 1/2 inch, somewhat fragrant; borne in round to flat-topped clusters at the ends of branches; appearing midsummer.
Fruit: A dry brown capsule, 1/2 inch, often downy hairy, ripening in early fall and persisting through winter.
Twig: Slender, red-brown to orange-brown, somewhat pubescent, buds woolly white, leaf scars slender.
Bark: Reddish brown to orange-brown or weathering to gray, shreddy.
Form: A rounded to columnar shrub to 4 feet.

Additional Range Information: Jamesia americana is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information