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Jesse Saylor
Ericaceae
CHAMAEDAPHNE calyculata
Leatherleaf
This entry has yet to be reviewed and approved by L2G editors.
Leatherleaf is often the first woody shrub to colonize a bog once sphagnum peat is established. A broadleaf evergreen native to continents around the North Pole, it grows in cool wetlands, bogs and on pond edges in thickets. It spreads by underground swollen stems called rhizomes. In North America it's found across all of Canada and Alaska southward into the northern United States.
The foliage is leathery and tough and often is held upward on the many twiggy branches. The upper leaf side is glossy emerald green while its underside is scaled and light gray-green. In late spring or early summer, clusters of small white urn-shaped flowers occur on twig tips. The size of the leaves within the flowering zone on the salmon-sienna twig are much smaller. The blooms are followed by small round mauve-burgundy capsules that will split open to release many seeds. The capsules persist on the twigs, revealing their five-chambered openings.
Grow leatherleaf in full to partial sun in moist to wet acidic soils that are porous and rich in organic matter. It is ideal for bog gardens and containers filled with wet peat alongside pitcher plants and cranberries. Moist pockes in meadows and shrub borders also receive this shrub well. Selection 'Verdant' has especially nice foliage, particularly in winter, in comparison to the species.
6 - 1
2 - 7
A1, A2, A3, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16
Broadleaf Evergreen
Full Sun, Partial Sun
1'-4' / 0.3m - 1.2m
2'-3' / 0.6m - 0.9m
Late Spring, Early Summer
North America, Northeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic United States, North-Central United States, Northwestern United States, Canada, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, Russia/Siberia, Eastern Asia
Acidic
Poorly Drained
Loam, Sand
Wet Site
Slow
Average Water
Thicket/Colonizing
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Showy
White
Sandy Brown, Sienna
Green, Gray Green
Green, Gray
Sienna, Gray
No
Single
Yes
Medium
Matte
Smooth
Bog Garden, Container
Birds
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