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Steeple-Bush. Hardhack

Spiraea tomentosa. Rose Family.

Stems.--Very woolly. Leaves.--Alternate; oval; toothed. Flowers.--Small; pink; in pyramidal clusters. Calyx.--Five cleft. Corolla.--Of five rounded petals. Stamens.--Numerous. Pistils.--Five to eight.

The pink spires of this shrub justify its rather unpoetic name of steeple-bush. It is closely allied to the meadow-sweet, blossoming with it in low grounds during the summer. It differs from that plant in the color of its flowers and in the woolliness of its stems and the lower surface of its leaves.