Chamaedaphne
Read about Chamaedaphne in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Chamaedaphne (chamai, dwarf, and daphne, the laurel in ancient Greek, alluding to its dwarf habit and evergreen leaves). Syn., Cassandra. Ericaceae. Leather-Leaf. Small plant, rarely cultivated for its early white flowers and evergreen foliage. Low shrub, with evergreen alternate small lvs.: fls. nodding in terminal leafy racemes; calyx small, 5- lobed; corolla urceolate-oblong, 5-lobed, with 5 included stamens; anthers 2-pointed: fr. a depressed-globose, 5-lobed caps, with numerous seeds.—One species in the colder regions of the northern hemisphere. Low, hardy, ornamental shrub, valuable for the earliness of its pretty white fls. It thrives best in a peaty and sandy, moist soil. Prop, by seeds sown in sandy peat, only slightly or not covered, and kept moist and shady; also by layers and suckers and by cuttings from mature wood in late summer under glass.
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| Chamaedaphne calyculata | ||||||||||||||
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| Chamaedaphne calyculata (L.) Moench | ||||||||||||||
The Leather leaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata) is a shrub in the plant family Ericaceae and the only species in the genus Chamaedaphne. It has a wide distribution throughout the cool temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
It is a low-growing shrub up to 1.5 m tall. The leaves are alternately arranged on the branch and elliptical to oblong shaped, 3–4 cm long, with minute scales and lighter coloration on the underside, and an entire or irregularly toothed margin. They are evergreen but often turn red-brown in winter. The flowers are small (5–6 mm long), white, and bell-like, produced in panicles up to 12 cm long. The species site is restricted to bogs, where they naturally form large clonal colonies.
The name Chamaedaphne comes from the latin for "ground laurel"; the common name comes from its tough, leather-like leaf.
Leather leaf is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Coleophora ledi.
