Eubotrys racemosa (L.) Nutt.

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Credits

New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

Recommended citation
'Eubotrys racemosa' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/eubotrys/eubotrys-racemosa/). Accessed 2026-10-15.

Family

  • Ericaceae

Genus

Common Names

  • Swamp Doghobble
  • Sweetbells Leucothoe

Synonyms

  • Leucothoe racemosa (L.) A.Gray
  • Andromeda racemosa L.
  • Andromeda spicata Wats.
  • Leucothoe spicata (Wats.) D.Don

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

corolla
The inner whorl of the perianth. Composed of free or united petals often showy.
anther
Pollen-producing structure of flower at the tip of the filament; part of a stamen.
calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
midrib
midveinCentral and principal vein in a leaf.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

Recommended citation
'Eubotrys racemosa' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/eubotrys/eubotrys-racemosa/). Accessed 2026-10-15.

Editorial Note

The text below is based on that of Bean (1981) who discussed this taxon under the name Leucothoe racemosa. We have created this hybrid article – an adapted version of Bean’s text under the correct modern name, with appropriate synonymy – whilst we await sponsorship to enable a full revision of this genus to be written.

On the dismantling over recent decades of Leucothoe s.l. see the entry for that genus; also the entries for Agarista and Eubotryoides.

Distribution  United States Gulf coastal plain, eastern Atlantic seaboard (northern Florida to Massachusetts)

USDA Hardiness Zone 5-9

Conservation status Not evaluated (NE)

A deciduous shrub of bushy, erect habit, generally 4 to 6 ft high in cultivation but occasionally twice as high; young shoots usually finely downy. Leaves narrowly oval or inclined to obovate, 1 to 21⁄2 in. long, 1⁄2 to 11⁄4 in. wide; pointed at both ends, shallowly round-toothed, of firm texture, downy on the midrib beneath; stalk 1⁄8 in. or less long. Flowers produced during June in one-sided racemes 1 to 4 in. long, sometimes branched, usually terminating short twigs of the previous year. Corolla white, cylindrical, 1⁄3 in. long; sepals triangular-ovate, finely hairy on the margin; flower-stalk very short, glabrous, with two bracteoles close beneath the calyx. Each anther is terminated by four awns, two to each cell.

One of two species in this genus, introduced in 1736. This is a perfectly hardy, free-growing shrub which flowers abundantly, and is one of the prettiest of June-flowering shrubs. It requires an occasional thinning out of the older wood. Propagated by cuttings of nearly ripened young shoots. Closely related to its sole congener E. recurva (see that entry).