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Button Bush
Duration: Perennial
Leaf texture: glossy
Flower color: white to cream
Fruit color: reddish brown
Fruit type: capsule
Attracts: butterflies, humming birds, bees and other pollinators
*This specific leaf voucher was collected by Isabel Woodard on September 17, 2021 during MICDS Exploratory Botany class.
Geographic:
Button Bush is native to eastern and southern North America. This plant can be found on a our MICDS campus in a few locations (see map at bottom). It is located in front of stem within the garden area. It can be found by the first bench on the left.
Characteristics:
The leaves are usually in opposite pairs but sometimes they are found in whorls of three. The leaf is elliptical or ovate shape. The green glossy leaves turn gold or yellow in the fall. The flowers are in a dense spherical shape packed with tiny tubular flowers that attract humming birds and bees. The flowers are pincushion like and eventually mature into the fruit consisting of two-seeded nutlets. The fruit emerges anytime from August to September and persists throughout the winter.
The fruit and seeds
Close up of the Flower
Name: from Greek word Kelphae "head" and anthos "flower"
Importance: They are important nectar plants since they can be found almost everywhere in the United states. They provide nests for birds and honey for bees.
Uses:
-erosion control along shorelines
-many Native American groups use the plant as medicine. For example they used different parts of the plant to treat fever, headache, constipation, diarrhea, etc.
Caution poisonous- The leaves are toxic to domesticated animals and humans due to the presence of Cephalathin.
If ingested it will induce vomiting, paralysis, and convulsions
Interesting fact: The town of Buttonwillow, California was named after the button bush. A single button bush tree acted as a meeting site for the Yokut Indians. It is listed as California Historical Landmark No. 492.
(Top): The Button Bush during the winter
(Bottom): The fruit or seeds
A bee enjoying some of the sweet nectar
Location
Location
The plant can be found from lower Canada through southern Florida and west through the eastern half of the great plain states (According to www.honey-plants.com). There is scattered distribution in New Mexico, California, Arizona, and northern Mexico.
Where you can find the plant on campus
Work cited:
https://www.honey-plants.com/calendar/illinois/cephalanthus-occidentalis/
https://www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org/generaljpegs/Seasons/earlysummer/buttonbushflwcl300.jpg
https://www.hobbyseeds.com/cephalanthus-occidentalis-button-bush-10.html
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/cephalanthus-occidentalis/
https://ozarkedgewildflowers.com/buttonbush-cephalanthus-occidentalis/
https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/ethnobot/images/buttonbush.html
https://anps.org/2020/01/23/know-your-natives-buttonbush/
https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/sites/plantid7/files/plantimage/ceoccid90.jpg
https://nativebeeology.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/dsc_0401.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalanthus_occidentalis?scrlybrkr=82dc9577
https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_ceoc2.pdf
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