fetterbush
Lyonia lucida
  • FAMILY: ERICACEAE
  • ALTERNATE COMMON NAME:
  • LEAVES: alternate, simple, evergreen, stiff, leathery; elliptic to oval to obovate; dark green above, pale below; thickened margins with continous vein on underside
  • FLOWER: bell-shape, small, white to pinkish; clusters of racemes in axils of leaves; April to May
  • FRUIT: dry, 5-angled capsule
  • TWIGS: flattened; more so on new growth
  • BARK:
  • FORM: small, arching shrub; colonial
  • HABITAT: sloughs, swampy places, sandy stream bottoms
  • WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Wetland (FACW): Usually occurs in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
  • RANGE: southeast US
  • USES:
  • Best Recognition Features:
    1. leathery-green leaves with thickened margins
    2. flattened twigs
    3. white, axillary clusters of bell-shaped flowers