Pacific Ninebark

 Pacific ninebark behind twinberry

Pacific ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus) is not a herb but a shrub. The common name gets its name from the fact that the bark is peeling away in layers but I haven't really looked at the bark because I did not know what the plant was at the moment. Notice on the above pictures that the plant in the front is twinberry.

Pacific ninebark flowers and leaves

It's a shrub that puts forward round clusters of white attractive flowers. The plant belong to the Rose family (Rosaceae) so expect to see 5 petaled flowers with lots of stamens. The flowers and the leaves do indeed remind those of Rubus (thimbleberry, etc) except they are small and form round clusters.

This plant likes wet habitat so it can be most often found along the rivers. However it is drought-tolerant and therefore became a popular garden plant. Personally I have not seen this plant often.