Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata)

Plantae>Magnoliophyta>Magnoliopsida>Ericales>Ericaceae>Chamaedaphne calyculata (L.) Moench

Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata) flowers

This circumboreal wetland shrub is uncommon in pocosins in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina and has been recorded in one county in the Mountain region. It is much more common in the northern US and Canada.

Bladen Co., NC 3/25/07.

Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata)

This one was actually growing in the water of Horseshoe Lake in Bladen County, anchored to the side of a Pondcypress (Taxodium ascendens) tree.

The leaves often point upwards.

Bladen Co., NC 10/7/06.

Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata)

The somewhat leathery evergreen leaves are dark green and lepidote (covered with whitish scales) above, pale below.

Bladen Co., NC 10/7/06.

Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata)

The round capsules ripen in the fall.

Bladen Co., NC 10/7/06.

Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata) bark

Bark detail.

Bladen Co., NC 3/25/07.

More information:
Borealforest.org
Connecticut Wildflowers
Rook.org
Virginia Tech Dendrology

Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina

cwcook@duke.edu

All photographs and text ©2011 by Will Cook unless otherwise indicated