Black Jetbead

(Rosaceae - Rose Family)

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• Form
  • medium-sized ornamental shrub or foliage shrub
  • maturing at about 5' tall by 7' wide
  • upright rounded growth habit, becoming slightly spreading with age
  • medium growth rate

• Culture
  • full sun to full shade
  • prefers full sun in moist, well-drained soils, but is highly adaptable to poor soils, various soil pHs, soil compaction, shady spots, drought, shearing, heavy pruning, pollution, and urban tolerance in general
  • propagated primarily by rooted stem cuttings, but also by seeds
  • Rose Family, with virtually no diseases or pests
  • low availability, in container or ball and burlap form

• Foliage
  • bright green, opposite, doubly serrated, with an acuminate tip and impressed veins, and early to leaf out in Spring
  • fall color is chartreuse and ornamentally ineffective in October

• Flowers
  • white, in late May and early June, 4-petaled and 1.5" in diameter at the stem termini, in bloom for two weeks
  • flowers are usually sparse and slightly hidden by the foliage, but are somewhat effectively contrasted against a solid green background of fully expanded foliage

• Fruits
  • sparse small fruits mature from green to glossy black (hence the common name) in October and persist into the following Spring
  • in small clusters of one to four drupes at some of the stem termini, surrounded by four persistent sepals and noticeable from a moderate distance when defoliated, in spite of being black

• Twigs
  • brown-gray, on open and gangly stems in youth, but becoming densely twiggy and branched with age

• Trunk
  • not applicable

• ID Summary
  • white, four-petaled, solitary flowers open in late Spring against the solid background of fully expanded, bright green, opposite leaves that have impressed veins, doubly serrated margins, and an acuminate tip
  • flowers give rise to sparsely borne fruits that mature at the ends of the stems as shiny black beads, surrounded by four persistent sepals
  • growth habit is rounded and dense at maturity

• Function
  • foundation, border, informal or formal hedge, or group planting shrub, performing well in sunny or shady areas

• Texture
  • medium texture in foliage and when bare
  • open density in youth, becoming average to thick density at maturity

• Assets
  • one of the best shrubs for solid foliage cover (bright-green, dense, clean leaves with distinctly impressed veins)
  • full sun to full shade tolerant
  • takes well to shearing as a globed shrub or formal hedge
  • white late-Spring flowers
  • glossy black Winter-persistent fruits

• Liabilities
  • limited ornamental appeal (flowers are sparse and slightly hidden by the foliage, while fruits are sparse, small, black, and rarely noticeable from a distance)
  • poor fall color

• Habitat
  • zones 5 to 8
  • native to Japan and central China

• Alternates
  • shade-tolerant deciduous shrubs (Calycanthus floridus, Hydrangea species, Lindera benzoin, Lonicera maackii, Lonicera tatarica, Rhododendron, etc.)
  • deciduous shrubs with clean, attractive foliage (Aronia, Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet', Rhus aromatica, Viburnum x 'Cayuga', Viburnum dentatum, Viburnum x pragense, etc.)
  • late-Spring flowering shrubs (Itea virginica, Philadelphus, etc.)
  • shrubs with more obvious Winter-persistent fruits (Aronia species, Hydrangea species, Ilex species, Myrica pensylvanica, etc.)

• Variants
  • straight species is the choice available

• Translation
  • Rhodotypos translates as "rose-type", referring to the vague similarity of the flowers to those of single-flowering Rosa .
  • scandens translates as "climbing", of uncertain meaning.

• Purpose
  • Black Jetbead is perhaps an underutilized shrub, having attractive and dense foliage that tolerates sunny or shady sites.

• Summary
  • Rhodotypos scandens is a shrub noted for its excellent foliage, subdued late Spring white flowers, and Winter-persistent sparse yet shiny black fruits.