Andromeda polifolia

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Andromeda polifolia
Andromeda polifolia bloom.jpg
Andromeda polifolia var. polifolia in flower
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Subfamily: Vaccinioideae
Tribe: Andromedeae
Genus: Andromeda
L.
Species:
A. polifolia
Binomial name
Andromeda polifolia
L.

Andromeda polifolia, common name bog-rosemary, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only member of the genus Andromeda, and is only found in bogs in cold peat-accumulating areas. Andromeda glaucophylla is a synonym of A. polifolia var. latifolia. [3]

Contents

Description

It is a small shrub growing to 10–20 cm (4–8 in) (rarely to 40 cm or 16 in) tall with slender stems. The leaves are evergreen, alternately arranged, lanceolate, 1–5 cm (12–2 in) long and 2–8 mm (0.08–0.31 in) broad, dark green above (purplish in winter) and white beneath with the leaf margins curled under. The flowers are bell-shaped, white to pink, 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) 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:

Etymology

The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus who observed it during his 1732 expedition to Lapland and compared the plant to Andromeda from Greek mythology. The specific epithet is a noun in apposition, which Linnaeus based on Johann Christian Buxbaum's pre-Linnaean generic designation Polifolia. [5] Buxbaum in turn derived the name from Johann Bauhin, who used it to mean "having polium-like leaves". The precise plant that Bauhin meant by polium is uncertain, but it may have been Teucrium montanum . [6] The common name "bog rosemary" derives from the superficial resemblance of the leaves to those of rosemary, which is not closely related.

Fossil record

Many fossil seeds of †Andromeda carpatica have been extracted from borehole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland. [7]

Cultivation

Numerous cultivars have been developed for garden use, all of which require damp acid soil in shade. The cultivars 'Compacta' [8] and 'Macrophylla' [9] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Like most other members of the family Ericaceae, they are acid-loving plants (calcifuges), and must be grown in a medium with a low pH.

Chemistry

Bog rosemary contains grayanotoxin, which when ingested may cause respiratory problems, dizziness, vomiting, or diarrhoea. [10]

Images

Related Research Articles

<i>Kalmia latifolia</i> Species of plant

Kalmia latifolia, the mountain laurel, calico-bush, or spoonwood, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, that is native to the eastern United States. Its range stretches from southern Maine south to northern Florida, and west to Indiana and Louisiana. Mountain laurel is the state flower of Connecticut and Pennsylvania. It is the namesake of Laurel County in Kentucky, the city of Laurel, Mississippi, and the Laurel Highlands in southwestern Pennsylvania.

<i>Vaccinium</i> Genus of berry-producing shrubs in the heath family

Vaccinium is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whortleberry), lingonberry (cowberry), and huckleberry. Like many other ericaceous plants, they are generally restricted to acidic soils.

<i>Rubus</i> Genus of plants in the rose family

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<i>Hydrangea</i> Genus of flowering plants

Hydrangea, commonly named the hortensia, is a genus of more than 70 species of flowering plants native to Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Korea, and Japan. Most are shrubs 1–3 m tall, but some are small trees, and others lianas reaching up to 30 m (100 ft) by climbing up trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous.

<i>Erica arborea</i> Species of flowering plant

Erica arborea, the tree heath or tree heather, is a species of flowering plant (angiosperms) in the heather family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa. It is also cultivated as an ornamental.

<i>Campanula</i> Genus of flowering plants in the bellflower family Campanulaceae

Campanula is the type genus of the Campanulaceae family of flowering plants. Campanula are commonly known as bellflowers and take both their common and scientific names from the bell-shaped flowers—campanula is Latin for "little bell".

<i>Pieris</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants in the heath family Ericaceae

Pieris is a genus of seven species of shrubs in the flowering plant family Ericaceae, native to mountain regions of eastern and southern Asia, eastern North America and Cuba. Known commonly in North America as andromedas or fetterbushes, they are broad-leaved evergreen shrubs growing to 1–6 metres tall and 3–10 ft (0.9–3.0 m) wide. The leaves are spirally arranged, often appearing to be in whorls at the end of each shoot with bare stretches of shoot below; they are lanceolate-ovate, 2–10 cm (0.8–3.9 in) long and 1.0–3.5 cm (0.4–1.4 in) broad, leathery textured, and with an entire or serrated margin. The young leaves in spring are typically brightly coloured. The flowers are bell-shaped, 5–15 mm (0.2–0.6 in) long, white or pink, and arranged in racemes 5–12 cm (2.0–4.7 in) long. The fruit is a woody capsule which splits into five sections to release the numerous small seeds.

<i>Kalmia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the heath family Ericaceae

Kalmia is a genus of about ten species of evergreen shrubs from 0.2–5 m tall, in the family Ericaceae. They are native to North America and Cuba. They grow in acidic soils, with different species in wet acid bog habitats and dry, sandy soils.

<i>Stratiotes</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Hydrocharitaceae

Stratiotes is a genus of submerged aquatic plant commonly known as water soldiers, described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. Several specific names have been coined within the genus, but at present only one is recognized: Stratiotes aloides. native to Europe and NW Asia.

<i>Menyanthes</i> Genus of flowering plants

Menyanthes is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Menyanthaceae containing the single species Menyanthes trifoliata. The North American form is often referred to as M. trifoliata var. minor Michx. It is known in English by the common names bogbean and buckbean.

<i>Tiarella cordifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Tiarella cordifolia, the heart-leaved foamflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. The specific name cordifolia means "with heart-shaped leaves", a characteristic shared by all taxa of Tiarella in eastern North America. It is also referred to as Allegheny foamflower, false miterwort, and coolwort.

<i>Campanula glomerata</i> Species of plant

Campanula glomerata, known by the common names clustered bellflower or Dane's blood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Campanula, belonging to the family Campanulaceae. It is the county flower of Rutland, England.

<i>Kalmia polifolia</i> Species of shrub

Kalmia polifolia, previously known as Kalmia glauca and commonly called bog laurel, swamp laurel, or pale laurel, is a perennial evergreen shrub of cold acidic bogs, in the family Ericaceae. It is native to north-eastern North America, from Newfoundland to Hudson Bay southwards.

<i>Rudbeckia fulgida</i> Species of flowering plant

Rudbeckia fulgida, the orange coneflower or perennial coneflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern North America.

<i>Polygonum aviculare</i> Species of plant

Polygonum aviculare or common knotgrass is a plant related to buckwheat and dock. It is also called prostrate knotweed, birdweed, pigweed and lowgrass. It is an annual found in fields and wasteland, with white flowers from June to October. It is widespread across many countries in temperate regions, apparently native to Eurasia, naturalized in temperate parts of the Southern Hemisphere.

<i>Buxus microphylla</i> Species of flowering plant

Buxus microphylla, the Japanese box or littleleaf box, is a species of flowering plant in the box family found in Japan and Taiwan. It is a dwarf evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 1 m (3.3 ft) tall and wide.

<i>Symphyotrichum lateriflorum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to central and eastern North America

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum is a species of flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae). Commonly known as calico aster, starved aster, and white woodland aster, it is native to eastern and central North America. It is a perennial and herbaceous plant that may reach heights up to 120 centimeters and widths up to 30 centimeters.

<i>Najas marina</i> Species of aquatic plant

Najas marina is a species of aquatic plant known by the common names spiny water nymph, spiny naiad and holly-leaved naiad. It is an extremely widespread species, reported across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Americas and many oceanic islands. It can be found in many types of freshwater and brackish aquatic habitat, including bodies of alkaline water.

<i>Acer palmatum</i> Species of maple

Acer palmatum, commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Korean: danpungnamu, 단풍나무, Japanese: irohamomiji, イロハモミジ, or momiji,, is a species of woody plant native to Korea, Japan, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. Many different cultivars of this maple have been selected and they are grown worldwide for their large variety of attractive forms, leaf shapes, and spectacular colors.

<i>Vaccinium oxycoccos</i> Species of flowering plant

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References

  1. Maiz-Tome, L. (2016). "Andromeda polifolia". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . IUCN. 208. e.T64263821A67728518. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T64263821A67728518.en .
  2. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. "Andromeda polifolia L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
  4. "Andromeda polifolia L. var. latifolia Aiton". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
  5. Turland, N.J.; et al., eds. (2018). "Art. 60.10". International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Shenzhen Code) adopted by the Nineteenth International Botanical Congress Shenzhen, China, July 2017 (electronic ed.). Glashütten: International Association for Plant Taxonomy. Retrieved 2019-03-07..
  6. Nelson, E. Charles; Oswald, P.H. (2005). "Polifolia revisited and explained" (PDF). Huntia: A Journal of Botanical History. 12 (1): 5–11.
  7. Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) by Łańcucka-Środoniowa M, Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3-117.
  8. "RHS Plant Selector - Andromeda polifolia 'Compacta'" . Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  9. "RHS Plant Selector - Andromeda polifolia 'Macrophylla'" . Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  10. Paul Alaback; Joe Antos; Trevor Goward; Ken Lertzman; Andy MacKinnon; Jim Pojar; Rosamund Pojar; Andrew Reed; Nancy Turner; Dale Vitt (2004). Jim Pojar; Andy MacKinnon (eds.). Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast (Revised ed.). Vancouver: Lone Pine Publishing. p. 53. ISBN   978-1-55105-530-5.