Kingdom Plantae Family Ericaceae Scientific name Cassiope mertensiana Rank Species | Order Ericales Genus Cassiope Higher classification Cassiope | |
 | ||
Similar Cassiope, Ericaceae, Phyllodoce empetriformis, Phyllodoce, Rhododendron albiflorum | ||
Cassiope mertensiana is a species of flowering plant known by the common names western moss heather and white mountain heather.
This heather is native to subalpine areas of western North America, from Alaska to the mountains of California. It is a small, branching shrub which forms patches along the ground and in rocky crevices.
Description
Cassiope mertensiana has short, erect, snakelike stems that are covered in tiny leathery scalelike leaves only a few millimeters long. From between the layers of scale leaves emerge reddish pedicels each bearing a petite, hanging, down-facing, bell-shaped flower. The bractlets are red and the contrasting flower is white.
References
Cassiope mertensiana Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA