Chamaedaphne calyculata (Linnaeus) Moench. Common name: Leatherleaf, Cassandra. Phenology: (Feb-) Mar-Apr; Jun-Oct. Habitat: Pocosins in the Coastal Plain, bogs in the Mountains, Chamaecyparis bogs, wet pine flatwood ecotones, other saturated, acid, peaty or peaty/sandy situations. Distribution: Circumboreal; in North America from NL (Newfoundland) to AB, south to WV (Tucker County) (T.F. Wieboldt, pers.comm., 2007; Vanderhorst et al. 2019; where possibly introduced), MD, OH, n. IL, WI, n. IA, AB, and BC; disjunct to the mountains of NC (where now nearly extirpated, known only from a single bog of less than 1 hectare) and to the Coastal Plain of NC and ne. SC. The Coastal Plain occurrences in NC and SC are mainly in the centers of large peat dome or Carolina Bay pocosins, the insufficiently famous southern blanket bogs or "southern muskeg." In these areas, Chamaedaphne is sometimes dominant (or codominant with Zenobia pulverulenta or Sarracenia flava) over expanses of 25 square kilometers. The southern occurrences of Chamaedaphne are certainly the result of Pleistocene distributions.
Origin/Endemic status: Native
Taxonomy Comments: A number of varieties have been named (the Eurasian var. calyculata, var. latifolia in Maritime Canada south to n. New England, and var. angustifolia, to which our material would presumably be referred). The validity of the varieties is doubtful (pending more careful study), and for now we regard this as a species lacking taxonomically recognizable varieties.
Synonymy ⓘ: = C, Can, FNA8, G, K4, NE, NY, S, S13, Tat, W, Luteyn et al (1996); = Cassandra calyculata (L.) D.Don — GW2, RAB; > Chamaedaphne calyculata (L.) Moench var. angustifolia (Aiton) Rehder — F, Il, Pa; > Chamaedaphne calyculata (L.) Moench var. latifolia (Aiton) Fernald — F. Basionym: Andromeda calyculata L. 1753
Links to other floras: = Chamaedaphne calyculata - FNA8
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Wetland Indicator Status:
- Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: OBL
- Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: OBL
- Great Plains: OBL
- Midwest: OBL
- Northcentral & Northeast: OBL
Heliophily ⓘ: 7
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© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
© Erik Danielson source | Original Image ⭷
© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
© Emily Oglesby | Original Image ⭷
© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
© Emily Oglesby | Original Image ⭷
© Erik Danielson source | Original Image ⭷Feedback
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Horticultural Information
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Height: 2-5 ft.
plant sale text: A relative of blueberries, this evergreen rhizomatous shrub has a sparse open habit with thin, wiry branches and brownish green leaves. In NC this uncommon plant is found in coastal plain pocosins and in one county in the mountains. In May, it blooms with small urn-shaped flowers in long terminal racemes, followed by rounded capsules that mature in the fall. Leatherleaf is suitable for naturalizing in wet areas or in moist gardens in dappled shade. The Chamaedaphne genus supports up to 15 lepidoptera species.
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native range: northeastern U.S. & Canada
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