Cassiope lycopodioides –

Description

Cassiope – There are about 12 species of dwarf, low growing, evergreen shrubs, in this genus. They occur in diverse habitats in arctic and alpine regions in the Northern Hemisphere. They have 4 rows of tiny, overlapping, scale like leaves, pressed flat to the whipcord like stems. Wiry stems carry either single or large numbers of nodding small, white or pink, urn shaped flowers in late spring and early summer. Grow in a rock garden or in open areas in woodland. Grow in sheltered site in moist, slightly acidic, humus rich soil in partial shade or in open sunny sites. Prone to Exobasidium gall. C. lycopodioides – This prostrate, mat forming shrub found from Northeastern Asia to Alaska grows 3″ tall and 10-36″ wide. It produces slender, tangled stems and tiny, overlapping, ovate scale like leaves, that are dark green, to 1/12″ long. In late spring and sometimes again in fall it bears axillary, short stemmed tubular-bell shaped white or pink flowers, 1/4″ across, with red calyces and red leaf stalks. Zones 3-8