''Leucothoe davisiae'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae known by the common name Sierra laurel. It is native to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

and the Klamath Mountains, in which its distribution extends just into southwestern

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Description

''Leucothoe davisiae'' is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

growing in wet mountain habitat, such as

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s. This shrub grows erect, exceeding one meter in height. Its leathery, hairless oval leaves are 1 to 6 centimeters long and evergreen. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a hanging cluster of many small urn-shaped white flowers, not unlike those of manzanitas. The bloom period is June to August. The fruit is a capsule about half a centimeter long containing many tiny winged seeds.

External links

Calflora Datafbase: ''Leucothoe davisiae'' (Sierra laurel)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatmentUSDA Plants ProfileUC Photos gallery
Vaccinioideae Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Ericaceae-stub