steeplebush

plural steeplebushes

1. uncountableusuallyA plant with narrow pyramidal clusters of flowers and a dense woolly tomentum.

   They passed many species they had already collected for the Millennium project — maple-leaved vibernum, steeplebush with spiky stalks of tiny pink flowers, black birch — as well as a particularly impressive specimen of that quintessential Staten Island forest dweller, Automobilius burnedouticus.

   2007 August 8, Andy Newman, “In Case of Apocalypse Later, a Plan to Ensure America’s Regreening”, in New York Times

   1. uncountableusuallySpiraea tomentosa, of eastern North American

      Synonyms: hardhack

   2. uncountableusuallySpiraea douglasii, of western North America

      Synonyms: rose spirea, Douglas spirea, Menzies' spirea, hardhack, hardhack steeplebush