Clethra mexicana

Description

Clethra is a genus of flowering shrubs or small trees described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. Clethra is one of two genera in the family Clethraceae (the other being Purdiaea). The species may be evergreen or deciduous, and all bear flowers in clusters (inflorescences), which correspond to racemes or panicles. The flowers are quite small, white or pinkish, and each bear 5 free petals, numerous stamens, and a 3-chambered seed capsule. The leaves, simple, ovate, and alternate or opposite, bear characteristic stellate hairs. The seeds are very small and numerous. Clethra species are native to a variety of habitats, including swamps, woodland, and rocky sites from temperate to tropical climates in eastern and southeastern Asia, Malesia, North and South America, and one species (C. arborea) on the island of Madeira. Several fossil fruits and seeds of Clethra cimbrica have been described from middle Miocene strata of the Fasterholt area near Silkeborg in Central Jutland, Denmark.