Itea

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Saxifragales

Familia: Iteaceae
Genus: Itea
Species: I. amoena – I. chinensis – I. coriacea – I. glutinosa – I. ilicifolia – I. indochinensis – I. japonica – I. kiukiangensis – I. kwangsiensis – I. macrophylla – I. maesifolia – I. nutans – I. oldhamii – I. omeiensis – I. parviflora – I. rhamnoides – I. riparia – I. tenuinervia – I. umbellata – I. virginica – I. yangchunensis – I. yunnanensis
Name

Itea L., Sp. Pl. 1: 199. (1753)

Typus: Itea virginica L., Sp. Pl. 1: 199. (1753)

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Choristylis Harv.
Diconangia Mitch. ex Adans.
Kurrimia Wall. ex Meisn.
Reinia Franch. & Sav.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Americas, Africa, Asia-Temperate
Regional: U.S.A., S. Africa & Asia-Temperate
Alabama, Arkansas, Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Burundi, Cape Provinces, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Delaware, District of Columbia, East Himalaya, Florida, Georgia, Hainan, Illinois, Indiana, Japan, Jawa, Kentucky, KwaZulu-Natal, Laos, Lesotho, Lesser Sunda Is., Louisiana, Malawi, Malaya, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nansei-shoto, New Jersey, North Carolina, Northern Provinces, Oklahoma, Pakistan, Pennsylvania, Philippines, South Carolina, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tennessee, Texas, Thailand, Tibet, Uganda, Vietnam, Virginia, West Himalaya, West Virginia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 199. Reference page.

Additional references

Govaerts, R., Nic Lughadha, E., Black, N., Turner, R. & Paton, A. 2021. The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. Scientific Data 8(215): 1–10. DOI: 10.1038/s41597-021-00997-6 Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2022. Itea in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Feb 28. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2019. Itea. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2019. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Nov. 15. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Itea. Published online. Accessed: Nov. 15 2019.
Tropicos.org 2019. Itea. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 15 Nov. 2019.

Vernacular names=
dansk: Drueved-slægten
hrvatski: Iteja
日本語: ズイナ属
中文: 鼠刺属

Itea is a genus of about 10 species of shrubs and small trees, commonly called sweetspires. The leaves are alternate. Flowers are small, with 5 sepals and 5 petals, borne in racemes or spikes.

The genus is native to eastern Asia, with one deciduous species from eastern North America.

Some species are grown in ornamental gardens for their long pendant and fragrant flower heads. These include the evergreen I. ilicifolia and I. yunnanensis from central and western China. A different, more upright growing characteristic can be found in the deciduous I. virginica of eastern North America.

Species include:[1]

Itea chinensis Hook. & Arn. – Chinese sweetspire[2]
Itea ilicifolia Oliv. – holly-leaved sweet spire
Itea japonica Oliv. – Japanese sweetspire[3]
Itea oldhamii C. K. Schneid.
Itea parviflora Hemsl.
Itea rhamnoides (Harv.) Kubitzki[4]
Itea virginica L. – Virginia sweetspire
Itea yunnanensis Franch.

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Itea.

"GRIN Species Records of Itea". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
"Itea chinensis". North Carolina Extension: Plant Gardener Toolbox. N.C. Cooperative Extension. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
Flint, Harrison L. (1997). Landscape Plants for Eastern North America. Wiley. p. 287. ISBN 9780471599197.

Mucina, L. (2018). Vegetation Survey and Classification of Subtropical Forests of Southern Africa. Springer, Cham. pp. 7–46. ISBN 978-3-319-67830-6. "Nomenclature crosswalk between names used in Mucina et al. (2007) report and the current book. This crosswalk captures nomenclature changes during the period 2007–2017 in South African taxonomic literature. Current name = name in Mucina et al. (2007): Itea rhamnoides = Choristylis rhamnoides"

European Garden Flora, vol. 4.
Hillier; Manual of Trees and Shrubs.