Spiraea "Blue Mist"
Used both fresh as branches and as dried seed pods, Spiraea plants are hardy, deciduous-leaved shrubs. The leaves are simple and usually short stalked, and are arranged in a spiralling, alternate fashion. In most species, the leaves are lanceolate (narrowly oval) and about 2.5 to 10 cm long. The leaf margins are usually toothed, occasionally cut or lobed, and rarely smooth. The many small flowers of Spiraea shrubs are clustered together in inflorescences, usually in dense panicles, umbrella-like corymbs, or grape-like clusters. The radialsymmetry of each flower is five fold, with the flowers usually bisexual, rarely unisexual.