sweet pepperbush

American  

[pep-er-boosh] / ˈpɛp ərˌbʊʃ /

noun

1. a shrub, Clethra alnifolia, of the eastern and southern coastal U.S., having numerous erect clusters of white or pinkish flowers.

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Etymology

Origin of sweet pepperbush

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Example Sentences

One of the shrubs that blooms at this season of the year is the Sweet Pepperbush, which is becoming popular as a cultivated shrub in our gardens and lawns.

From Project Gutenberg

On weekend days, or mornings when I needed a psychic kick-start, Wallis and I ventured farther afield, to Peaked Hill, with its panoramic view atop the highest point on the island; over to the old Kings Highway, which tucks in behind Abel’s Hill and winds north to Meetinghouse Road; up to Middle Road Sanctuary, where the huckleberries and sweet pepperbush perfume the forest.

From New York Times

Like many another neglected native plant, the beautiful sweet pepperbush improves under cultivation; and when the departed lilacs, syringa, snowball, and blossoming almond, found with almost monotonous frequency in every American garden, leave a blank in the shrubbery at midsummer, these fleecy white spikes should exhale their spicy breath about our homes.

From Project Gutenberg