''Itea'' is a genus of about 10 species of

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s and small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s, commonly called sweetspires. The leaves are alternate. Flowers are small, with 5 sepals and 5 petals, borne in racemes or spikes. The genus is native to eastern

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, with one deciduous species from eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Some species are grown in ornamental gardens for their long pendant and fragrant flower heads. These include the evergreen ''I. ilicifolia'' and ''I. yunnanensis'' from central and western

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. A different, more upright growing characteristic can be found in the deciduous '' I. virginica'' of eastern North America. Species include: *'' Itea chinensis'' Hook. & Arn. – Chinese sweetspire *'' Itea ilicifolia'' Oliv. – holly-leaved sweet spire *'' Itea japonica'' Oliv. – Japanese sweetspire *'' Itea oldhamii'' C. K. Schneid. *'' Itea parviflora'' Hemsl. *'' Itea rhamnoides'' (Harv.) Kubitzki *'' Itea virginica'' L. – Virginia sweetspire *'' Itea yunnanensis'' Franch.

References

* European Garden Flora, vol. 4. * Hillier; Manual of Trees and Shrubs. Saxifragales Saxifragales genera {{Saxifragaceae-stub