Posh spice

摘要

Clethra is a small but diverse genus with several species of real ornamental value that deserve to be more widely grown, argues ROY LANCASTER. When I exchanged the shallow chalk soil of my Winchester garden for the sand and clay of my present plot,20 years ago, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was not that I dislike alkaline soils for, after all, they do support a huge variety of ornamental garden plants. No, it was more the exciting possibilities that a lime-free soil presented, for beyond the more obvious rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and pieris lies a host of lesser-known plants seemingly designed to stretch the imagination of any gardener. Among these, clethras rise head and shoulders above most other contenders. Clethra is the sole genusof the Clethraceae family and comprises, according to a recent account, around 60 species of deciduous and evergreen shrubs and small trees bearing panicles or racemes of small, white, often fragrant (commonly described as 'spicy') flowers in late summer. Almost all Clethra are distributed in East Asia and the Americas, and the only exception is possibly the most spectacular species, C. arborea, from Madeira.