Lily-of-the-valley tree
Clethra arborea
Family · Clethraceae · Harmless
The tree that fills the laurisilva with clusters of white bells at the end of summer, honey scented, when almost nothing else in the forest is in flower. It is endemic to Madeira and the only European Clethra.
Oak woods · Streams and ditches · Uplands
Also known asMadeira clethra
How to tell it
Alternate leaves clustered at the branch ends, elongated, leathery, with a serrated edge on the upper half. Young shoots and flower stalks are covered in rusty down. The flowers are the mark: upright racemes of white bell flowers a centimetre across, strongly scented, looking like lily-of-the-valley. Range: endemic to Madeira.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
No food use. It is widely planted as an ornamental and, ironically, behaves as an invader in the Azores, where it was introduced and takes over laurisilva clearings that are not its own.