Buttonbush

Description:

C. occidentalis is a deciduous shrub or small tree that averages 1–3 m (3.3–9.8 ft) in height, but can reach 6 m (20 ft). The leaves are opposite or in whorls of three, elliptic to ovate, broad, with a smooth edge and a short petiole. The flowers are arranged in a dense spherical inflorescence on a short peduncle. Each flower has a fused white to pale yellow four-lobed corolla forming a long slender tube connecting to the sepals. The stigma protrudes slightly from the corolla. The fruit is a spherical cluster of achenes (nutlets). (Wikipedia)

Habitat:

Along the edges of a pond in my dad's front yard.