Common Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

   

Common Buttonbush flowers, Chihuahuan Desert Gardens, Centennial Museum, University of Texas at El Paso. Photograph by A.H. Harris.

• Common English Names: Common Buttonbush, Button Willow, Honeyballs, Globeflower, Riverbush, Crane Willow, Little Snowball
• Common Spanish Names: Jazmín, Uvero
• Scientific Name: Cephalanthus occidentalis (sef-al-LAN-thus ok-sih-den-TAL-iss)
• Family: Rubiaceae (Madder Family)
• Geographic Range: Throughout eastern and central North America from southern Canada to Florida, Texas, and into Mexico with scattered populations in New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
• Plant Form: Deciduous shrub 6' H x 4' W, occasionally a small tree to 18' H.
• Remarks: Spreading plant with large, dark green, oval to oblong leaves and dense, spherical clusters of tiny, white flowers up to 1½" across throughout summer. Seeds are good waterfowl food source. Used medicinally but contains poisonous compound "cephalanthin". Takes moderate water but prefers moist soil, full sun to partial shade, and a variety of soils including clay; hardy.

Last Update: 19 Apr 2006