Abelia spathulata Sieb. & Zucc.

Modern name

Diabelia spathulata (Siebold & Zucc.) Landrein

A deciduous shrub 3 or 4 ft high, much branched; twigs downy when young. Leaves oval-lanceolate, rhomboidal, or ovate; 1 to 2 in. long, 1⁄3 to 1 in. wide; unequally toothed; with scattered hairs above, and down on the nerves below; margins red when young. Flowers in pairs at the ends of short side twigs; corolla white with yellow in the throat, 3⁄4 to 1 in. long, widely funnel-shaped. Sepals usually five, 1⁄4 in. long, rosy, oblong-spathulate, slightly downy. Stamens shorter than corolla. Bot. Mag., t. 6601.

Native of Japan; introduced by Maries in 1880. It is hardy in the milder parts of the southern counties and grew well at Leonardslee, near Horsham.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

This pretty Japanese species is represented at Kew and at Wakehurst Place, Sussex. It flowers in May. Worthy of introduction is f. colorata, with rosy red flowers from deeper-coloured buds. It is a wild variant with a local distribution.

Genus

Abelia

Other species in the genus

Modern name

Some names used by Bean have now been superseded and are no longer familiar. To ensure that all plants can be easily found, under any name, we have cross-referenced to The Plant List, a collaboration between RBG Kew, Missouri Botanical Gardens and other organisations, which aims to provide a currently accepted name for any plant. Not all taxonomists will agree with all Plant List nomenclature, but it provides a baseline to compare names. For each species above, clicking on the Modern Name will link to the entry for that name on The Plant List website.