| Pieris floribunda | |
|---|---|
| |
| Flower raceme in March | |
Scientific classification
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Pieris |
| Species: | P. floribunda
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pieris floribunda | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Pieris floribunda is a North American species of broadleaf evergreen shrub, a member of the fetterbush genus in the blueberry family (Ericaceae). It is commonly known in North America as mountain fetterbush [3] or mountain andromeda. [4] All parts of Pieris floribunda are poisonous if ingested. [5] In landscapes it should be grown in full to part shade, out of windy locations, and have a good quality soil with much organic matter with acidity of pH 4.5 to 6.5.[ citation needed]
The mountain fetterbush is less subject to damage from the Azalea lacebug that often infests the related Pieris japonica.
Description
Pieris floribunda is a bushy shrub growing to around three to six feet (0.9 to 1.8 m) high with oval shiny, leathery leaves which are normally evergreen, but may shed in a harsh winter to brown and persist until spring. It has erect or erect with just slightly nodding panicles of white urn-shaped flowers that form in autumn as erect pink buds. The brown, dry fruit is a slightly angled globular capsule about 1⁄2 inch (13 mm) long in autumn and persisting until late April. The gray-brown bark is shaggy and peeling when mature. [5] [6] [7]
Distribution
Pieris floribunda is native to the eastern United States, primarily the southern Appalachian Mountains in the States of Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and West Virginia. [8] It thrives in areas of land disturbed by human activity. In common with other members of Pieris, it grows better on well drained soils. [4]
Cultivars
There is a cultivar of a hybrid between the American and Japanese species called 'Brouwer's Beauty' that does adapt easily to cultivation and bears intermediate flower clusters that are erect and yet drooping also.[ citation needed]
The cultivar 'Forest Flame' is a large shrub to 4 m (13 ft), with leaves which go from red to pink to green. It produces small urn-shaped cream-coloured flowers in spring. It has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [9]
References
- ^ "Ericaceae - Pieris floribunda Benth. & Hook.f." International Plant Names Index. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- ^ The Plant List, Pieris floribunda (Pursh) Benth. & Hook. f.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Pieris floribunda". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ a b "Pieris floribunda". Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas.
- ^ a b "Native Plants". Pieris floribunda. New England Wild Flower Society.
- ^ Flora of North America, Pieris floribunda (Pursh) Bentham & Hooker f., 1876. Fetterbush
- ^ North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension description and photos
- ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
- ^ "Pieris 'Forest Flame'". RHS. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
