Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Lyonia ligustrina var. ligustrina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Lyonia at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Var. ligustrina is the usual variety in the Mountains and Piedmont, but extends as well into the Coastal Plain in NC and SC. This variety is very variable in leaf shape and size, some populations having leaves about 3 cm long and 1.3 cm wide, others with leaves to as large as 8 cm long and 5 cm wide. The plants with smaller leaves occur in bogs and other distinctly wet habitats, while plants with large leaves occur in thin soils in high elevation heath balds and thin soils around rock outcrops (as, for instance, on Grandfather Mountain, NC), per Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lyonia ligustrina var. ligustrina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Lyonia ligustrina var. ligustrina
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-11-001:
Lyonia ligustrina FAMILY Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Arsenococcus ligustrinus
COMMON NAME:
Northern Maleberry, He-huckleberry
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_xoli_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm220607_8289
June Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220607_8290
June Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
Very variable in leaf shape and size, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
)
JK Marlow jkm220607_8291
June Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
Leaves pubescent on both surfaces (or rarely glabrous), per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm220607_8297
June Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220607_8298
June Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220609_8442
June Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220609_8454
June Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
Penny Longhurst pen_20200709_093829
July NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Penny Longhurst pen_20210722_122448
July NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Will Stuart wil_7520530352_5902210f36
July Avery County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Calyx lobes triangular; corolla white, globose, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Will Stuart wil_7520530352_d3a3a07eb7
July Avery County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm140816_786
August Jackson County NC
High Hampton Inn
)
JK Marlow jkm140816_788
August Jackson County NC
High Hampton Inn
)
JK Marlow jkm140816_799
August Jackson County NC
High Hampton Inn
Leaves deciduous, subcoriaceous, and dull, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
)
JK Marlow jkm220906_9737
September Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm230901_5159
September Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
Penny Longhurst pen_20190909_102425
September NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Penny Longhurst pen_20221014_121840
October NC
Whiteside Mountain
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Lyonia ligustrina var. ligustrina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lyonia ligustrina var. ligustrina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Lyonia ligustrina var. ligustrina
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-11-001:
Lyonia ligustrina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Arsenococcus ligustrinus
884
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: mountain bogs, shrub balds, bottomlands, other moist to wet habitats, "dry" exposed ridges at high elevations, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in GA Piedmont, uncommon in SC Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed globular-urceolate corolla
10 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p362
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p228
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p111
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p296
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p165
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p181
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p33
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p202
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p170
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".