Wetland Plants and Plant Communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin

LEATHERLEAF

(Chamaedaphne calyculata (L.) Moench)


Leatherleaf

HEATH FAMILY (Ericaceae)

IND. STATUS: OBL

FIELD CHARACTERISTICS: A low, evergreen shrub usually 30-40 cm. tall (occasionally growing to 1.5 m. in height). The leaves are alternate, oblong to elliptic, 1.5-5 cm. long, leathery, and minutely scaled beneath. The leaves assume a characteristic russet color in winter. Flowers are white, tubular, 6-7 mm. long and arranged in 1-sided, leafy racemes. In flower from April to June.

ECOLOGICAL NOTES: Leatherleaf is restricted to bogs. It often forms monotypes covering many acres.

SOURCE: Fernald (1970); and Gleason and Cronquist (1991).


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