"You took off like a Jetbead..." (Okay, no one's going to get that obscure Brit pop reference, I know.)

A member of the Yahoo! group ma-eppc posted requesting reports on Jetbead sightings. Known by the scientific name Rhodotypos scandens, this shrub should now be coming into flower, though it is probably easier to identify once it has developed its distinctive 4-fruited clusters. Often planted as an ornamental, this Asian native is being monitored in several eastern states due to reports of its escape from cultivation.