''Andromeda polifolia'', common name bog-rosemary, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the heath

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

-accumulating areas.

Description

It is a small shrub growing to (rarely to ) tall with slender stems. The leaves are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

, alternately arranged, lanceolate, long and broad, dark green above (purplish in winter) and white beneath with the leaf margins curled under. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are bell-shaped, white to pink, long; flowering is in late spring to early summer. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a small capsule containing numerous

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s. There are two

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

, treated as distinct

by some botanists: *''Andromeda polifolia'' var. ''polifolia''. Northern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and

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 are ...

, northwestern North America. *''Andromeda polifolia'' var. ''latifolia'' Aiton

789 __NOTOC__ Year 789 ( DCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 789 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calenda ...

/small>. Northeastern North America ( syn. ''A. glaucophylla'' Link 821/small>, ''A. polifolia'' var. ''glaucophylla'' (Link) DC.

839 __NOTOC__ Year 839 ( DCCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Prince Sicard of Benevento is assassinated by a conspiracy among the nobil ...

/small>).

Etymology

The genus was named by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

who observed it during his 1732

expedition to Lapland The expedition to Lapland, the northernmost region in Sweden, by Carl Linnaeus between May and October 1732 was an important part of his scientific career. Linnaeus departed from Uppsala and travelled clockwise around the coast of the Gulf of ...

and compared the plant to Andromeda from Greek mythology. The specific epithet is a noun in apposition, which Linnaeus based on

Johann Christian Buxbaum Johann Christian Buxbaum (no later than 5 October 1693 – 7 July 1730), was a German physician, botanist, entomologist and traveller. He was born in Merseburg and studied medicine at the Universities of Leipzig, Wittenberg, Jena, and Leyden. In ...

's pre-Linnaean generic designation ''Polifolia''.. Buxbaum in turn derived the name from

Johann Bauhin Johann (or Jean) Bauhin (12 December 1541 – 26 October 1613) was a Swiss botanist, born in Basel. He was the son of physician Jean Bauhin and the brother of physician and botanist Gaspard Bauhin. Biography Bauhin studied botany at the Univers ...

, 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 ''Teucrium montanum'', the mountain germander, is a germander native to southern Europe, from Spain eastward to Turkey. It forms shrubs about a foot high, with small leaves no more than an inch across, and petals blooming yellowish white. On sout ...

''. The common name "bog rosemary" derives from the superficial resemblance of the leaves to those of

rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was known by the scientific name ''Rosmar ...

, which is not closely related.

Fossil record

Many

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

seeds of †''Andromeda carpatica'' have been extracted from

borehole A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petrol ...

samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin,

West Carpathians The Western Carpathians are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland wit ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Cultivation

Numerous cultivars have been developed for garden use, all of which require damp acid soil in shade. The cultivars 'Compacta' and 'Macrophylla' have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit. Like most other members of the family Ericaceae, they are acid-loving plants (

calcifuge A calcifuge is a plant that does not tolerate alkaline (basic) soil. The word is derived from the Latin 'to flee from chalk'. These plants are also described as ericaceous, as the prototypical calcifuge is the genus '' Erica'' (heaths). It is not ...

s), and must be grown in a medium with a low pH.

Chemistry

Bog rosemary contains

grayanotoxin Grayanotoxins are a group of closely related neurotoxins named after '' Leucothoe grayana'', a plant native to Japan originally named for 19th century American botanist Asa Gray. Grayanotoxin I (grayanotaxane-3,5,6,10,14,16-hexol 14-acetate) is als ...

, which when ingested may cause respiratory problems, dizziness, vomiting, or

diarrhoea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

Images

Image:Andromeda_polifolia_1.jpg, ''Andromeda polifolia'' var. ''polifolia'' leaves Image:Andromeda polifolia, Pancake Bay PP.jpg, ''Andromeda polifolia'', Pancake Bay,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Image:Cleaned-Illustration Andromeda polifolia.jpg, Illustration Image:Linnaeus Andromeda.jpg, Linnaeus' original drawing

References

External links

* Images at Flavon's art gallery
Flower

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q742866, from2=Q2846938 Vaccinioideae Flora of Europe Flora of temperate Asia Flora of Central Europe Flora of Northern Europe Flora of Mongolia Flora of Siberia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus