Pieris ( or ) is a genus of seven species of shrubs in the flowering plant family

Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...

, native to mountain regions of eastern and southern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, eastern North America and Cuba. Known commonly in North America as andromedas or fetterbushes, they are broad-leaved evergreen shrubs growing to tall and wide. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

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, long and broad, leathery textured, and with an entire or serrated margin. The young leaves in spring are typically brightly coloured. The flowers are bell-shaped, long, white or pink, and arranged in racemes long. The fruit is a woody capsule which splits into five sections to release the numerous small seeds. ''Pieris'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including

the engrailed The engrailed and small engrailed (''Ectropis crepuscularia'') are moths of the family Geometridae found from the British Isles through central and eastern Europe to the Russian Far East and Kazakhstan. The western Mediterranean and Asia Minor ...

. The genus name derives from '' Pieria'', a place in Greece, according to Greek mythology the home of the Muses.

Species

*'' Pieris cubensis'' (Grisebach) Small. Western Cuba. *'' Pieris floribunda'' (Pursh ''ex'' Simms) Benth. & Hook. – mountain andromeda, mountain pieris, mountain fetterbush. Eastern United States. *''

Pieris formosa ''Pieris formosa'', called the Taiwan pieris or the Himalayan andromeda, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Pieris'' native to Nepal, the eastern Himalaya, Assam in India, Myanmar, Vietnam, Tibet, central and southern China, but not T ...

'' (Wallich) D.Don – Chinese pieris, Himalayan pieris. The Himalaya, southwestern China ( Yunnan), northern Myanmar. *'' Pieris japonica'' (Thunb.) D.Don ''ex'' G.Don – Japanese andromeda. Eastern China, Japan, Taiwan. *'' Pieris nana'' (Maxim.) Makino (syn. ''Arcterica nana''). Japan, eastern Siberia. *''

Pieris phillyreifolia Pieris may refer to: Organisms * ''Pieris'' (plant), the andromeda or fetterbush, a plant genus in the family Ericaceae * ''Pieris'' (butterfly), the garden whites, a butterfly genus in the family Pieridae * ''Pieris'', a synonym of the genus ...

'' (Hook.) DC. – climbing fetterbush. Southeastern United States. *'' Pieris swinhoei'' Hemsley – southeastern China ( Fujian, Guangdong).

Cultivation

They are commonly grown as ornamental plants, valued for year-round interest due to bright red new growth in early spring, chains of small, white flowers in mid-spring, and buds that remain on the plant through the winter. Numerous cultivars have been selected for different spring foliage colour. They grow best in a shady spot, sheltered from drying, winter winds. They prefer

acid soil Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the neg ...

, and should be mulched once per year, using a two-inch covering of either peat or composted pine needles. The flowers give the plant one of its alternative names, 'Lily of the valley shrub' (though ''Pieris'' is not closely related to ''

Convallaria ''Convallaria'' is a genus of flowering plants. It is usually described as a monotypic genus with the single species ''Convallaria majalis'' (lily-of-the-valley), but now some botanists distinguish up to three species, also including ''Convallaria ...

'').

Cultivars

The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

:- * 'Blush' * 'Cavatine' * 'Debutante' * 'Firecrest' * 'Flaming silver' * 'Forest flame' * 'Mountain fire' * 'Pink delight' * 'Prelude' * 'Purity' * 'Sarabande' * 'Valley Valentine' * 'Wakehurst'

Toxicity

'' Pieris floribunda'' (mountain fetterbush) has been noted as highly toxic.

References

External links

Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Pieris''Flora of China: ''Pieris''
*
Pieris.eu – Information about ''Pieris japonica''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q132967 Ericaceae genera Garden plants