3.
Lyonia mariana
(Linnaeus) D. Don, Edinburgh New Philos. J. 17: 159. 1834.
Andromeda mariana
Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 393. 1753;
Neopieris mariana
(Linnaeus) Britton
Shrubs,
to 1.5 m.
Stems
erect, terete to slightly angled.
Leaves
deciduous; blade narrowly to widely elliptic, ovate, or obovate, (2.5-)3-8(-10.5) × 1-4(-5) cm, membranous, base narrowly cuneate to rounded, margins entire, plane to slightly revolute, apex acute to rounded-mucronate or slightly acuminate, surfaces scattered, multicellular, glandular short-headed-hairy, not lepidote, otherwise glabrous or hairy on major veins, intramarginal vein absent.
Inflorescences
fascicles, developing from buds along distal portion of stems of previous year; bracts 1 per flower, linear-lanceolate, to 4.5 mm.
Pedicels
glandular-hairy, not lepidote.
Flowers:
calyx lobes 3-9.5 × 1-4 mm, glandular-hairy, not lepidote; corolla usually white, rarely pink, cylindric (base not swollen), 7-14 × 4.5-9 mm; filaments 4-7 mm, long-hairy, especially near base, with 2 ± well-developed spurs.
Capsules
ovoid, 4-6.5 × 3-6 mm, apex strongly constricted, short-headed-hairy, otherwise glabrous or hairy; sutures usually remaining attached to adjacent valve; placentae central to nearly basal.
2
n
= 24.
Flowering spring. Open, acid, dry to moist pine and/or oak forests, flatwoods, or savannas, often in ecotonal situations, less often in shrub bogs, pond margins, and acid swamps; 0-200 m; Ark., Conn., Del., Fla., Ga., La., Md., Miss., Mo., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Okla., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tex., Va.
Leaves of
Lyonia mariana
(and probably other species as well) contain andromedotoxin and are known to cause livestock poisoning; the species is occasionally used as an ornamental. The western populations tend to be much hairier than those of the Atlantic coastal plain.
