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Leather-Leaf

Cassandra calyculata. Heath Family.

A much-branched shrub from two to four feet high. Leaves.--Oblong; nearly evergreen; leathery and shining above; rusty beneath. Flowers.--White; in the axils of the small upper leaves, forming one-sided, leafy clusters which are less dense than those of the Leucothoe.

In April or May the leather-leaf is found flowering in wet places. Cassiope hypnoides. Heath Family.

One to four inches high. Stems.--Tufted; procumbent. Leaves.--Needle-shaped; evergreen. Flowers.--White or rose-colored; solitary, nodding from erect, slender stalks. Calyx.--Of four or five sepals. Corolla.--Deeply four or five-cleft. Stamens.--Eight or ten. Pistil.--One.

This pretty moss-like little plant is found on the mountain summits of New York and New England. Its delicate nodding flowers usually appear in June.