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Leatherleaf,
Chanaedathne calyculata (L.) Moench Height: An evergreen shrub, 0.5-1 m high, often forming extensive patches. New shoots are covered with minute scurfy scales but older branches are smooth. Buds: In winter the leaf buds are small, rounded, and reddish-brown. Flower buds are present among the upper leaves being sharp-pointed and reddish. The white corollas are exposed by March. The four bud scales have hairy margins. The bark color is variable being green to reddish-brown. Leaves: Alternate, oblong, narrowed at the base and sharp-pointed or rounded at the tip, somewhat overlapping in the stem, leathery, and 0.5-3 cm long. The margins are slightly revolute and have obscure reddish teeth. The leaf surfaces are scurfy with tiny scales, especially beneath. The uppersurface is dark green and the undersurface is yellowish. In the winter, the leaves turn dark reddish or brown. Flowers: White, bell or urn-shaped, forming drooping, one-sided leafy clusters (racemes) at the ends of the branches. Each flower is situated in the axil of a small leaf. The corolla is divided into 5 recurving teeth. There are 10 stamens. Blooms from mid-May to late June. Fruit: Small, many-seeded capsules that split into 5 valves. The seeds are shed in the fall, but the empty capsules remain longer. Habitat: Found on bogs and fens, around ponds and in other wet habitats, throughout Newfoundland and north to about 55 degrees latitude in Labrador. Source:
Native Trees and Shrubs Used
with permission from
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