Deciduous shrub that blooms in April and May dramatically, forming numerous clusters of white flowers that completely cover the ground to the point that branches and foliage can not be observed. Native to China and Japan, the specific name cantoniensis refers to one of their original locations, Guangzhou, China port that was a Portuguese colony during the sixteenth century and later from other European nations such as the Netherlands, where until the mid-nineteenth century was one of the largest and most cosmopolitan commercial ports in the world. The Reeves Spirea was ultimately first described by a Portuguese Jesuit missionary and naturalist, João de Loureiro, in the late eighteenth century. The Jesuits played a major role in European botanical exploration of the Far East. Their representatives, who entered because of their missionary work in China and Japan and were here welcome for their expertise, were in fact virtually the only Westerners who had permission to enter these territories, as was the case of San Francisco Javier narrated at the entrance of the Japanese quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) and ended with the arrival of samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga to Sevilla.