The Bottlebrush Buckeye is one of the best flowering shrubs for shady areas. It is native to the Southeastern United States and was first described by the noted colonial plant collector, John Bartram, on his trip through the South in the 1770s. A mature plant forms a wide, dense mound, spreading via suckers. In mid-summer, white feathery flowers appear in upright cylindrical spikes, made all the more fetching by pink stamens and red anthers. Hummingbirds and Eastern Swallowtail Butterflies are particularly attracted.  Flowers are followed by leathery capsules containing polished, brown seeds. Leaves turn a rich, buttery yellow in the fall. The Bottlebrush Buckeye has won numerous awards:  Kentucky's Theodore Klein Plant Award; Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, GreatPlants Award; Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Gold Medal; Royal Horticultural Society, Award of Garden Merit.