sweet-pepper bush

The sweet pepper bush, also known as summer sweet, is a plant belonging to the genus Clethra. This genus includes about 65 species of flowering trees and shrubs found in the Americas, Asia, and Madeira. These plants are often cultivated for their attractive spikes of fragrant white flowers.

One species, Clethra alnifolia, commonly called sweet pepper bush or summer sweet, is native to the eastern Coastal Plain of North America. It typically grows between 3 to 10 feet tall and its leaves change to yellow or orange in the fall. Other North American species include C. acuminata (cinnamon clethra) and C. tomentosa.1

It is important to note that the sweet pepper bush is distinct from black pepper, which comes from the vine Piper nigrum.2