Rubiaceae
Common buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
- Family
- Rubiaceae
- Genus
- Cephalanthus
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Common names
By language (10)
- Arabic
- رأسية الحدائق, قيفالنثس
- Chinese
- 北美风箱树, 北美风箱果, 风箱树叶, 风箱树根, 风箱树花
- Czech
- Hlavoš západní
- Danish
- Amerikansk Knapbusk
- English
- Common buttonbush, Button-willow, Buttonbush, Honey-bells
- German
- Westlicher Knopfbusch
- Norwegian Bokmål
- Oksidentkulebusk
- Polish
- Guzikowiec zachodni
- Russian
- Цветоголовник западный, Головач западный, Цветоголов западный
- Slovak
- Hlavoš západný
Synonyms
- Cephalanthus acuminatus Raf.
- Cephalanthus angustifolius Dippel
- Cephalanthus berlandieri Wernham
- Cephalanthus hansenii Wernham
- Cephalanthus obtusifolia Raf.
- Cephalanthus obtusifolius Raf.
- Cephalanthus occidentalis f. lanceolatus Fernald
- Cephalanthus occidentalis f. occidentalis
- Cephalanthus occidentalis subsp. californicus (Benth.) A.E.Murray
- Cephalanthus occidentalis var. brachypodus DC.
- Cephalanthus occidentalis var. californicus Benth.
- Cephalanthus occidentalis var. macrophyllus Raf.
- Cephalanthus occidentalis var. obtusifolius Raf.
- Cephalanthus occidentalis var. occidentalis
- Cephalanthus occidentalis var. pubescens Raf.
- Cephalanthus oppositifolius Moench
- Cephalanthus pubescens (Raf.) Raf.
Flowers
- In flower
- June to August (from 5,521 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
- Flower colour
- white (USDA PLANTS Database)
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Shrub, Tree
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native
Photos
Photo: Rufino Osorio, CC BY-SA 2.5, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Vojtěch Zavadil, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Lu Chávez, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF 
Photo: En el nido, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: wwattles, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF 
Photo: Ryan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: lisasunflower, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF 
Photo: Ryan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Molly R, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF 
Photo: Ryan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: jvgammwren, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF 
Photo: sonnia hill, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
More in Cephalanthus
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.