Chamaedaphne calyculata (L.) Moench

Leatherleaf

About plant names...

Leatherleaf is circumboreal—it is native to northern regions around the world.

Plants: Multiply branched shrubs 12-59" (30-150 cm) in height, with roots that extend about 12" (30 cm) into soggy soil. They are found in dense, floating mats of sphagnum in fresh water, or along edges of water, especially bogs.

Leaves: Alternate, unlobed, sometimes toothed, leathery, elliptical to broadly lanceolate, ⅜-1¾" (1-5 cm) × ⅛-⅝" (5-17 mm). Leaf edges are slightly curled downward.

Flowers: ¼" (6.3 mm) in size, white, and urn-shaped, similar to blueberry flowers. They occur in long racemes and hang one-sided, like bells. They appear from April to July. Buds are covered with tiny, brown scales.

Fruits: Round, reddish capsules about ¼" (6.3 mm) around.

Edibility: Some native North Americans brewed tea from fresh or dry leaves, but boiling may release enough grayanotoxin I, also called "andromedotoxin," to be toxic. (The same substance is found in some rhododendrons.) Although grayanotoxin I poisoning is rarely fatal, it pro­bably isn't what you had in mind from a cup of tea, and steeping the leaves in a jar of water in a sunny spot, instead of boiling, was said to minimize this problem.

Online References:

The University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium

The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

The Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

EFloras

9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
≈ 15 × 10" (39 × 26 cm)

9/20/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm)

9/20/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine ID is uncertain

9/28/2013 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia Naitonal Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
≈ 7 × 11" (18 × 28 cm)

10/16/2016 · Guilder Pond, Mount Everett, Mt. Washington, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 4½" (12 × 12 cm)

8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine
≈ 7 × 4½" (18 × 12 cm)

Chamaedaphne calyculata description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 23 Aug 2020.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

9/16/2016 · Sieur de Monts Botanical Gardens, Bar Harbor, Maine ID is uncertain

6/22/2017 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4½" (14 × 12 cm)

10/26/2012 · Dunstable Rural Land Trust Wildlife Refuge, Dunstable, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain

9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
≈ 24 × 16" (62 × 41 cm)

9/20/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
≈ 11 × 7" (27 × 18 cm)

10/16/2016 · Guilder Pond, Mount Everett, Mt. Washington, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 7" (12 × 18 cm)

8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm)

10/16/2016 · Guilder Pond, Mount Everett, Mt. Washington, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 4½" (16 × 11 cm)

6/22/2017 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm)

9/20/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

Range: Zones 3-7:

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