E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of BC

Spiraea betulifolia Pall.
White Meadow-sweet (birch-leaved spirea; Prairie Wedgegrass; white spirea)
Rosaceae (Rose family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

Map

Distribution of Spiraea betulifolia
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Low shrub, 20-60 (90) cm tall, from long creeping rhizome; stems erect, smooth, with thin wiry branches.

Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, short-stalked, oval to oblong-egg-shaped, 2-7 cm long, coarsely double-toothed mostly above the middle, dark green above, paler below, smooth.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a branched, nearly flat-topped, terminal cluster of numerous small flowers; corollas white, sometimes pink-tinged, the petals 5, circular, about 2 mm long; calyces smooth on the outside, 5-lobed, the lobes triangular, erect to spreading, about 1 mm long; ovaries superior; stamens numerous.

Fruits:
Follicles, usually 5, about 3 mm long, beaked, somewhat leathery, smooth except sometimes a few long hairs along the suture, shining; seeds several, spindle-shaped.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
White

Blooming Period:
Early Summer

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall

Source: The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Spiraea betulifolia

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Avg	Min	Max
Elevation (metres)	1066	6	2854
Slope Gradient (%)	26	0	244
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	196	0	360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	3	0	8
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	C
# of field plots species was recorded in:	9993
Modal BEC Zone Class	IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in	AT(12), BG(12), BWBS(295), CWH(42), ESSF(792), ICH(1902), IDF(2397), MH(4), MS(1481), PP(158), SBPS(263), SBS(2020), SWB(1)
Source: Klinkenberg 2013

Habitat and Range

Dry to moist open forests, rocky slopes and clearings in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common throughout BC east (mostly) of the Coast-Cascade Mountains and S of 56degreeN; S to CA, MT and ID.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia