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| ## COMMon buttonbush {#common-buttonbush .Title-Header}               |
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| *Cephalanthus occidentalis* L.                                        |
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| Plant Symbol = CEOC2                                                  |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="1.8006944444444444in"
height="2.5631944444444446in"}

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##### Alternate Names  {#alternate-names .Header-3}

##### Button ball, button willow, buttonbush, *Cephalanthus occidentalis* var. *californicus, Cephalanthus occidentalis* var. *pubescens,* honey-bells, riverbush.  {#button-ball-button-willow-buttonbush-cephalanthus-occidentalis-var.-californicus-cephalanthus-occidentalis-var.-pubescens-honey-bells-riverbush. .Header-3}

##### WARNING: Common buttonbush contains the poison CEPHALATHIN. Cephalathin will induce vomiting, paralysis, and convulsions if ingested. {#warning-common-buttonbush-contains-the-poison-cephalathin.-cephalathin-will-induce-vomiting-paralysis-and-convulsions-if-ingested. .Header-3}

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##### Uses {#uses .Header-3}

*Erosion control:* Common buttonbush is used for erosion control along
shorelines. It forms dense stands and its swollen plant base stabilizes
the plant.

*Ethnobotanic:* Native Americans used common buttonbush medicinally.
Decoctions of the bark were used as washes for sore eyes, antidiarrheal
agents, anti-inflammation and rheumatism medications, skin astringents,
headache and fever relievers, and venereal disease remedies. The bark
was also chewed to relieve toothaches. Roots were used for muscle
inflammation and as blood medicines.

*Ornamental:* Showy flowers and fruit make common buttonbush a popular
choice for use in native plant gardens, shrub borders, and along pond
shores and water gardens. The persistent fruits give the plant some
winter interest.

*Wildlife:* Waterfowl and shorebirds consume the seeds of common
buttonbush. White-tailed deer browse foliage in the northeastern United
States. Wood ducks use the plant's structure for protection of brooding
nests. Butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds are attracted to common
buttonbush for its nectar. Bees use it to produce honey.

##### Description {#description .Header-3}

*General*: Madder Family (Rubiaceae). Common buttonbush is a warm-season
shrub or small tree that reaches 6 m in height at maturity. Stem bases
are swollen. Young twigs are green, 4-sided with elongated lenticels,
and turn brown and scaly upon maturation. Leaves are opposite or
whorled, lance-shaped, 18 cm long and 7.5 cm wide, glossy dark green,
and emerge in May. Flowers are tubular, 4- to 5-lobed, white to reddish,
4 cm across, and form in dense clusters at the ends of the branches.
Long styles give flowers a pincushion appearance. The fruit are
ball-like and contain 2-seeded nutlets. Common buttonbush blooms in June
through September and sets fruit in September and October.

Key characteristics of common buttonbush are its pincushion flower
heads, elongated lenticels, and swollen stem bases. It is also the only
wetland shrub that has whorled leaves and spherical-shaped flowers.

*Distribution*: Common buttonbush is native to North America. It occurs
from Nova Scotia to Ontario, south through Florida, and west to the
eastern Great Plains with scattered populations in New Mexico, Arizona,
California, and northern Mexico. For current distribution, please
consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site
(http://plants.usda.gov).

*Habitat*: Common buttonbush is a wetland shrub common in swamps,
floodplains, marshes, bogs, ditches that are underwater for part of the
year, and alluvial plains with intermittent flooding. It is present in
riparian and wetland communities and is associated with plants like
American beech, red maple, sugar maple, black oak, pin oak, *Nyssa*
species, bald cypress, southern bayberry, red bay, holly, dogberry,
grape, viburnum, poison ivy, Indian grass, big bluestem, switchgrass,
and sedges.

##### Adaptation {#adaptation .Header-3}

The USDA hardiness zones for common buttonbush are 5 through 9. It is a
pioneer species in flooded areas and colonizes lowland marsh communities
dominated by hardstem bulrush. It grows well in sandy, loamy soils or
alluvial soils with sand or silt surfaces. It favors acidic or neutral
soils and is intolerant of alkalinity. It prefers medium to wet moisture
levels and is intolerant of dry soils. Abundance increases with
increased water levels and with increased light levels. Its distribution
is limited to regions that have a mean July temperature of 20^o^C.

##### Management {#management .Header-3}

Common buttonbush does not colonize along manmade waterways. It is
moderately susceptible to herbicides and can be damaged by springtime
flooding. Pruning is not necessary for control of spread but can be done
in the spring to shape the plant. Dense shrubs can be cut back in the
fall, when water levels are low, to maintain manageability.

It has been found in the South that common buttonbush remains dominant
in the absence of fire. It will resprout in a few months following
low-intensity burns in wet woodlands. Frequent fires will promote
occasional sprouting, but common buttonbush is slow to resprout (7
years) following high-intensity burns. In the southern marshlands, fire
decreases grass densities, releasing nutrients for common buttonbush,
and increasing growth.

##### Seeds and Plant Production {#seeds-and-plant-production .Header-3}

##### Common buttonbush seeds are ready for collection in the fall when they have turned reddish-brown. No pretreatment is necessary. Sow seeds into moist, humus soils in full sun or part shade.  {#common-buttonbush-seeds-are-ready-for-collection-in-the-fall-when-they-have-turned-reddish-brown.-no-pretreatment-is-necessary.-sow-seeds-into-moist-humus-soils-in-full-sun-or-part-shade. .Header-3}

#####  {#section-7 .Header-3}

##### Cuttings will produce roots in moist sandy soil. Unrooted cuttings can be pushed into moist soil along shorelines and will establish on their own. {#cuttings-will-produce-roots-in-moist-sandy-soil.-unrooted-cuttings-can-be-pushed-into-moist-soil-along-shorelines-and-will-establish-on-their-own. .Header-3}

##### Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin) {#cultivars-improved-and-selected-materials-and-area-of-origin .Header-3}

In 1996, the Big Flats Plant Materials Center released the 'Keystone'
common buttonbush cultivar for use in wetland and riparian area
restoration for the entire common buttonbush range. 'Keystone' was
selected for its increased plant vigor, stem and foliar abundance, and
increased basal area.

#####  {#section-8 .Header-3}

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

##### References {#references .Header-3}

##### Allain, L. 2004. *USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database,* Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov, 24 June 2004). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge. {#allain-l.-2004.-usda-nrcs-plants-database-version-3.5-httpplants.usda.gov-24-june-2004.-national-plant-data-center-baton-rouge. .Header-3}

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##### Agricultural Research Center. 2004. *GRIN taxonomy* (http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/index, 21 June 2004). USDA, Beltsville. {#agricultural-research-center.-2004.-grin-taxonomy-httpwww.ars-grin.govcgi-binnpgshtmlindex-21-june-2004.-usda-beltsville. .Header-3}

#####  {#section-10 .Header-3}

##### Esquivel, R.G. 2001. *Propagation protocol for production of container Cephalanthus occidentalis L. plants.* (http://www.native plantnetwork.org, 21 June 2004). College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow. {#esquivel-r.g.-2001.-propagation-protocol-for-production-of-container-cephalanthus-occidentalis-l.-plants.-httpwww.native-plantnetwork.org-21-june-2004.-college-of-natural-resources-university-of-idaho-moscow. .Header-3}

#####  {#section-11 .Header-3}

##### Floridata. 2004. *Plant encyclopedia* (http://floridata.com, 21 June 2004). Floridata Marketplace, Tallahassee. {#floridata.-2004.-plant-encyclopedia-httpfloridata.com-21-june-2004.-floridata-marketplace-tallahassee. .Header-3}

#####  {#section-12 .Header-3}

##### Kemper Center for Home Gardening. 2004. (http://ridgwaydb-mobot.org/ kemperweb/plantfinder/Alpha.asp, 21 June 2004). Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis. {#kemper-center-for-home-gardening.-2004.-httpridgwaydb-mobot.org-kemperwebplantfinderalpha.asp-21-june-2004.-missouri-botanical-garden-st.-louis. .Header-3}

#####  {#section-13 .Header-3}

##### Morris, R. 2003. *Cephalanthus occidentalis* (http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html? Cephalanthus+occidentalis, 21 June 2004). Plants for a Future Database, Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, United Kingdom. {#morris-r.-2003.-cephalanthus-occidentalis-httpwww.scs.leeds.ac.ukcgi-binpfafarr_html-cephalanthusoccidentalis-21-june-2004.-plants-for-a-future-database-blagdon-cross-ashwater-beaworthy-devon-united-kingdom. .Header-3}

#####  {#section-14 .Header-3}

##### Snyder, S.A. 1991. *Cephalanthus occidentalis.*  {#snyder-s.a.-1991.-cephalanthus-occidentalis. .Header-3}

#####  (http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/, 21 June 2004). Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Missoula. {#httpwww.fs.fed.usdatabasefeis-21-june-2004.-rocky-mountain-research-station-usda-forest-service-missoula. .Header-3}

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##### Wisconsin State Herbarium. 2004. *Cephalanthus occidentalis* (www.botany.wisc.edu/wisflora/scripts/ detail.asp?SpCode=CEPOCC, 21 June 2004). University of Wisconsin, Madison. {#wisconsin-state-herbarium.-2004.-cephalanthus-occidentalis-www.botany.wisc.eduwisflorascripts-detail.aspspcodecepocc-21-june-2004.-university-of-wisconsin-madison. .Header-3}

#####  {#section-16 .Header-3}

##### Wunderlin, R.P., and B.F. Hansen. 2003. *Atlas of Florida vascular plants* (http://www.plantatlas. usf.edu, 21 June 2004). Institute of Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa. {#wunderlin-r.p.-and-b.f.-hansen.-2003.-atlas-of-florida-vascular-plants-httpwww.plantatlas.-usf.edu-21-june-2004.-institute-of-systematic-botany-university-of-south-florida-tampa. .Header-3}

##### Prepared By:  {#prepared-by .Header-3}

##### *Sarah Wennerberg* {#sarah-wennerberg .Header-3}

##### Formerly USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center,  {#formerly-usda-nrcs-national-plant-data-center .Header-3}

##### Baton Rouge, Louisiana {#baton-rouge-louisiana .Header-3}

##### Species Coordinator:  {#species-coordinator .Header-3}

*Mark Skinner*

USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

##### Edited: 25June2004 sbw; 21Oct2004 rln; 05jun06 jsp {#edited-25june2004-sbw-21oct2004-rln-05jun06-jsp .Header-4}

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
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*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
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