The Button Bush, a Rare and Unusual Nova Scotian Plant

The Button bush is a shrub that grows in and close to water. It is common along the Medway River system but rare elsewhere. I have seen it in places along the Petite River but don’t recall ever seeing it anywhere else.
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The Button Bushes form a low thick cover. Their roots spread out like mangroves in miniature to create a wonderful, sheltered environment for all sorts of river life. It thrives in the ten foot strip between the normal low water level and the normal high water level along the river bank.

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Aquatic insects use the stems as the stairway between water and air. With the insects come birds, first to feed on the insects and later as the bush thickens to nest in the sheltered protection.

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The bush halts the seasonal erosion of the river bank and builds strength and stability. It also shelters the larger river mammals. The burrowing of the muskrats and pathways of the beaver and otter create the small puddles and pools that harbour amphibians.
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The Button Bush has thick, richly green, foliage and an eccentric almost random shape to the trunk and branches. The trunks take on a look of ancient, weathered beauty.
The flower bud is globular and pale green, about the size and shape of a button. The flower is an unusual white spiked ball. Bees seem to love it.

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Flowering occurs in late July. Interestingly, the transition from bud to flower seems to happen quickly. I have noticed one or two flowers just starting to show in the morning and by that afternoon hundreds of flowers will cover the bushes.

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I think it is a valuable and beautiful plant. It is also a haven for wildlife along my stretch of the river.

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The actual name of this plant is Cephalanthus Occidentalis.

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This map shows the native range of the Button Bush. It is quite common in other parts of the Eastern States and Canada.

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