BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Clethra alnifolia | Poor Man's Soap 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Sweet pepperbush is a native, large, deciduous shrub that grows up to 8
feet (2.5 m) tall [8].  It has woody twigs and stoloniferous roots.  The
bark is reddish-brown.  The fruit is a capsule divided into three
sections [8,12,22].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Undisturbed State:  Phanerophyte (nanophanerophyte)
   Undisturbed State:  Phanerophyte (microphanerophyte)
   Burned or Clipped State:  Cryptophyte (geophyte)


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Vegetative:  Sweet pepperbush sprouts from stolons [4].  

Sexual:  The flower of sweet pepperbush is insect pollinated; the fruit
is probably distributed by animals [27].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Sweet peperbush grows in humid, tropical to temperate climates [3].  It
is found on moderate to poorly drained sites, in acid swamps or in sandy
soils [1,14,27].  Common overstory associates include cypress (Taxodium
spp.), Atlantic white-cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), loblolly pine
(Pinus elliottii), slash pine (P. taeda), pitch pine (P. rigida),
eastern white pine (P. strobus), pond pine (P. serotina), spruce pine
(P. glabra), red maple (Acer rubrum), magnolia (Magnolia spp.), and
beech (Fagus grandifolia).  Common understory associates include
laurelleaf greenbrier (Smilax laurifolia), switchcane (Arundinaria
tecta), inkberry (Ilex glabra), large gallberry (I. coriacea), zenobia
(Zenobia pulverulenta), swamp cyrilla (Cyrilla racemiflora), southern
bayberry (Myrica cerifera), and saw-palmetto (Serenoa repens) [3,15,17].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Sweet pepperbush is a shade-tolerant understory shrub.  It is a mid to
late seral species.  It grows under the canopy of old-growth trees
[6,21].  Sweet pepperbush either does not become a dominant shrub or
does not dominate for very long.  Other shrubs such as switchcane
(Arundinaria tecta) dominate, with sweet pepperbush reduced to a
subordinate [24,25,28].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Sweet pepperbush flowers between July and August; the fruit ripens from
September to October [10,27].

Related categories for Species: Clethra alnifolia | Poor Man's Soap