Bog-rosemary

Andromeda polifolia var. polifolia in flower

Plant Info

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Andromeda
Species:	A. polifolia

Binomial name

Andromeda polifolia
L.

Bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia) is a heath found across northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Bog rosemary is only found in bogs in cold peat-accumulating areas.

It is a small shrub growing to 10-20 cm (rarely to 40 cm) tall with slender stems. The leaves are evergreen, lanceolate, 1-5 cm long and 2-8 mm broad, dark green above (purplish in winter), white beneath with the leaf margins curled under and alternately arranged. The flowers are bell-shaped, white to pink, 5-8 mm long; flowering is in late spring to early summer. The fruit is a small capsule containing numerous seeds.

There are two varieties, treated as distinct species by some botanists:

Andromeda polifolia var. polifolia. Northern Europe and Asia, northwestern North America.
Andromeda polifolia var. glaucophylla. Northeastern North America (syn. A. glaucophylla).

The name derives from the superficial resemblance of the leaves to those of the unrelated shrub Rosemary (Rosmarinus, family Lamiaceae).

Andromeda is also the common name for plants in the genus Pieris, which is also a member of Ericaceae.