RUBIACEAE - - Madder Family

Cephalanthus occidentalis Linnaeus — Buttonbush

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) - This is usually a shrub, that in some localities, can make an impenetrable thicket, but in some parts of the South can make a small tree 25 to 35 ft. in height. The leaves are opposite or whorled, 4 to 7 in. long, 2 to 3 1/2 in. wide, ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, lustrous bright green above, lighter and glabrous or somewhat pubescent beneath. Flowers are creamy-white and borne in globose heads from 1 to 1 1/2 in. in diameter. Each flower with along slender tube, 4-5 lobed at tip and a long-exserted style. The flowers can be solitary or in clusters of 2 to several and terminal or axillary.

Habitat:

Streambanks, riverbanks, depressional wetlands, lakes, often in standing water.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

The range of Cephalanthus occidentalis (Buttonbush)

The Georgia range of Cephalanthus occidentalis (Buttonbush)