Template:POTD/2022-11-23
Cephalanthus occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae native to eastern and southern North America. Common names include buttonbush, common buttonbush, button-willow, buck brush, and honey-bells. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree that averages 1 to 3 m (3.3 to 9.8 ft) in height, but can reach 6 m (20 ft). The flowers are arranged in a dense spherical inflorescence 2 to 3.5 cm (0.79 to 1.38 in) in diameter on a short peduncle. Each flower has a fused white to pale yellow four-lobed corolla forming a long slender tube connecting to the sepals. The stigma protrudes slightly from the corolla. The fruit is a spherical cluster of achenes (nutlets). This C. occidentalis plant, of the occidentalis variety, was photographed flowering in Point Pelee National Park in Ontario, Canada.Photograph credit: The Cosmonaut