Virginia Tech Dendrology

common pearlbush Rosaceae Exochorda racemosa (Lindl.) Rehder symbol: EXRA
Leaf: Alternate, simple, deciduous, elliptical to obovate, 3 inches long, green or blue-green above and glaucous below, margins mostly entire but with some small teeth on the upper third of the leaf.
Flower: Perfect, showy, white, solitary or clustered, 5 rounded petals, about 1 1/2 inch in diameter, lacking fragrance; borne on a 3-5 inch raceme on the old wood; appearing in spring; the opening flower buds resembling bright white pearls.
Fruit: Small (3/8 inch), white to brown, 5-celled capsules.
Twig: Alternate, slender, red-brown, becoming somewhat corky; leaf scars narrow, with 3 bundle scars; buds scaly and red-brown.
Bark: Rough and scaly, red-brown to gray.
Form: A loosely branched shrub up to 15 feet tall.

Additional Range Information: Exochorda racemosa is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. 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