Ron Schmaltz

1)  Kalmia latifolia                     Mountain Laurel

• This attractive evergreen shrub is native to the eastern United States.
• Has five-sided cup-shaped clusters of pink flowers.
• The name honors Pehr Kalm (1715-1779) and latifoliia means “Broad Leafed”.

2)  Rhododendron occidentale                     Western Azalea

• This deciduous shrub is native to the coasts of central and southern Oregon and California.
• Fragrant, funnel-shaped flowers are borne in trusses and vary from white to pale rose, with or without a yellow blotch and sometimes streaked with darker rose markings.
• Genus name literally means Rhododendron (Rose Tree) Occidentale (Western).

3)  Styrax americanus Syn Styrax americanum                     American Snowbell

• This deciduous shrub or small tree is native to North America, preferring wetlands and marshes.
• Showy, bell-shaped, pendulous and mildly fragrant white flowers (to 1/2″ long).
• Typically grows to 6 – 10 feet (less frequently to 15 feet) tall.

4)  Leptospermum scoparium                     Manuka

• This broad-leaved evergreen shrub is native to Australia and New Zealand.
• Cultivars produce red, pink or white flowers in both single and double varieties.  Flowers give way to small woody capsules containing tiny seeds.  Bees love the flowers.

5)  Exochorda racemosa                     Pearlbush

• This deciduous shrub is native to northern China.
• It prefers full sun to part shade and is drought tolerant.
• The genus name comes from the Greek words “exo” meaning outside and “chorde” meaning a cord referring to fibers outside the placenta in the ovary.  The species name means “flowers in racemes”.