''Cassiope lycopodioides'', Haida Gwaii mountain-heather or clubmoss mountain heather, is a plant species native to North America.

Distribution

It is found in southern

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and the US State of Washington. It is found on rocky slopes in

arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

and

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...

at elevations up to 2000 m.Flora of North America v 8 p 448
/ref> In

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, it is reported only from King County. The specific epithet "''lycopodioides''" refers to the plant's superficial resemblance to some species of

clubmoss Lycopodiopsida is a class of vascular plants known as lycopods, lycophytes or other terms including the component lyco-. Members of the class are also called clubmosses, firmosses, spikemosses and quillworts. They have dichotomously branching ...

''(

Lycopodium ''Lycopodium'' (from Greek ''lykos'', wolf and ''podion'', diminutive of ''pous'', foot) is a genus of clubmosses, also known as ground pines or creeping cedars, in the family Lycopodiaceae. Two very different circumscriptions of the genus are i ...

'' sensu lato).

Subspecies

''Cassiope lycopodioides'' subsp. ''cristapilosa'', known only from the

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Heca ...

(formerly called the

Queen Charlotte Islands Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Heca ...

), is recognized as a distinct taxon by some authorities but not others.

Description

''Cassiope lycopodioides'' is a perennial herb forming mats lying close to the ground. Leaves are narrow, up to 3 mm long, closely pressed against the stem. Flowers are white, bell-shaped, up to 20 mm across.Scoggan, H. J. 1979. Dicotyledoneae (Loasaceae to Compositae). Part 4. 1117–1711 pp. In Flora of Canada. National Museums of Canada, Ottawa.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5756676 Ericaceae Flora of Alaska Flora of British Columbia Flora of Washington (state) Haida Gwaii Flora without expected TNC conservation status