Spiraea thunbergii, occasionally called Thunberg's meadowsweet, is a plant

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

 in the rose family, Rosaceae

Rosaceae

Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...

.

Description

Spiraea thunbergii (common names : baby's breath spirea, Thunberg spirea; Japanese common name : yuki-yanagi) is a small, long-lived shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 with thin, flexible stems. It is native to Japan and China. It is also a popular landscape shrub in southeastern U.S.

The flowers are white, borne in early spring (late March to early April) and late fall. It reaches a height of 1.5-1.8 meter and is about as wide. The alternate, simple, almost linear leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are semideciduous.

This plant produces phytotoxic cis-cinnamoyl glucoside

Glucoside

A glucoside is a glycoside that is derived from glucose. Glucosides are common in plants, but rare in animals. Glucose is produced when a glucoside is hydrolysed by purely chemical means, or decomposed by fermentation or enzymes....

s and cis-cinnamic acid The plant-growth inhibition characteristics can be used against diverse species as lettuce (Lactuca saliva), pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus), red clover (Trifolium pratense), timothy (Phleum pratense), and bok choy (Brassica rapa var chinensis). The characteristics of these natural chemicals indicate a potential role of cis-cinnamic acid and its glucosides as allelochemicals

Allelopathy

Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and can have beneficial or detrimental effects on the target organisms...

(chemicals, released from plants, that cause an interaction between plants and other living organisms) for use as plant growth regulators and weed suppression in agricultural fields and in natural ecosystems.

This species forms an interspecific hybrid with Spiraea japonica L. fil.

In the horticultural trade one can obtain several varieties of Spiraea thunbergii, such as 'Mt Fuji' (white flowers), 'Ogon' (bright yellow flowers), 'Mellow yellow' and 'Fugino pink'