downy leucothoe
Leucothoe axillaris
  • FAMILY: ERICACEAE
  • ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: dog-hobble
  • LEAVES: abruptly pointed, leathery; petiole about 1”; serrate margins
  • FLOWER: axillary racemes, white; corolla 6-8 mm; May to October; look like Vaccinium flowers
  • FRUIT: capsule
  • TWIGS: rounded
  • BARK:
  • FORM: small shrub to 1.5 m
  • HABITAT: swamps, bogs, flood plains
  • WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Wetland (FACW): Usually occurs in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
  • RANGE: Coastal plains of Virginia to Florida to Louisiana
  • USES: wildlife cover
  • Best Recognition Features:
    1. evergreen, elliptic to lanceolate, serrate margin
    2. round twigs
    3. colonial habit, low growing

    NOTE: easily confused with fetterbush but, leaf margin is serrate and lacks the continous vein, and the twigs are round