Kolkwitzia

Kolkwitzia amabilis , commonly known as beauty bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. It is the sole species in genus Kolkwitzia. It is a deciduous shrub grown as an ornamental plant. In China, where it originated, the plant is called wèi shí shu (蝟实).

==Description== thumb|Flower The plant is an arching, spreading shrub, with light brown flaky bark and graceful arching branches, which can grow higher than tall. It is usually as wide as it is tall. The plant blooms in late spring. Its light pink flowers, dark pink in the bud, are about one-inch long and bell-shaped ("tubular campanulate"); they grow in pairs, as with all Caprifoliaceae, and form showy, numerous sprays along ripened wood. Its leaves are opposite, simple, and ovate, from long, entire or with a few sparse shallow teeth. Its fruit is a hairy, ovoid capsule approximately inches long.