A deciduous shrub with arching branches, the old bark peeling and the pith hollow (the Chinese name means hollow). Opposite toothed leaves, rather thick and rough with stellate hairs. In early summer panicles of white five-petalled flowers at the branch tips, often slightly nodding, the double forms like little pompons; called unohana in Japan, the flower of the Month of the Rabbit (the fourth lunar month), the emblem of early summer in children's songs.
Habitat
Forest edge, cliffs, hillsides and streamsides, widely planted in gardens and hedges, and naturalised from plantings in China and North America.
Distribution
Native to Japan and common throughout the country; cultivated and naturalised in China, common in Yangtze-basin parks; absent from Singapore.
Season and behaviour
May and June, the flower of Japan's fourth lunar month, after the azaleas and before the hydrangeas, for about two weeks.
Photography tips
These are the FilmAnalysis editors' notes, not content from the sources.
Strings of small white flowers read better as the arc of a whole branch than one bloom, side-backlit so the petals glow, half a stop under, against dark tree shade. The double forms suit a macro of layered petals. Unohana on a country fence with new green leaves is the standard early-summer picture in Japan.
Photographic styles
Strings of white on arching branches; the new green of early summer.
Similar species
Other Deutzia species (different inflorescence forms); mock orange (larger four-petalled scented flowers); false spiraea (pinnate leaves).
Related badge
None yet. No validated photo recognition exists for this species, so no badge is tied to it: a name in the encyclopedia is not evidence in a photograph.
The illustration is original FilmAnalysis artwork. The photograph is from Wikimedia Commons; its licence and author are under it.
Why it is listed: this species comes from the Flower checklist (GBIF backbone and Wikidata verified). Names follow the GBIF backbone and Wikidata; the facts follow the sources below; photo recognition is not offered.
