Mountain Sweet-pepperbush
Clethra acuminata
Found in moist forests, heath balds, streambanks, margins of rock outcrops at high elevations. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
57
Strong
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 8–20 feet
- Spread
- 4–6 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 4 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- Summer
- Fruiting season
- September to October
Recorded in 17 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 4
Streams, rivers and their banks
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 132 animals.
- Common RavenCorvus corax
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
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Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
9CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Clethra
- Coelodasys unicornisUnicorn Caterpillar Moth
- Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
- Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
- Lycia ypsilonWoolly Gray
- Nola clethraeSweet Pepperbush Nola
- Olethreutes inornatanaInornate Olethreutes
- Prochoerodes lineolaLarge Maple Spanworm Moth
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Scopula limboundataLarge Lace-Border
11BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Clethra
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Clethraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 6a–7b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- White
- Fruit begins
- September
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) differs)
- Flower color · “White” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 6a–7b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “8–20 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- primary_flower_color · “white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Good drainage; Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “4–6 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Mountain Pepper Bush; Mountain Sweet pepperbush
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: South Central (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications