As usual, summersweet leaves have been changing dramatically and hanging on long to ease us into winter. As you see, they’re the hues of honeyed lemon with a hint of watermelon pink. This shrub, also called sweetpepperbush, is named after its honey-and-spice fragrance.
That fragrance is so strong it was considered by sailors of yore to be one of the first indicators of being near North America. The shrub is native to the eastern and southern United States, specifically along the coastal and interior eastern regions from Maine down to Florida and west to Texas. There’s documentation of George Washington acquiring summersweet to plant at Mount Vernon.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on November 7, 2026.)