Compilation
Cassiope tetragona

8 Images see all

Previous
Next

Name

Identification
Cassiope tetragona (L.) D.Don [family ERICACEAE ] (stored under name); Verified by Not on Sheet, Andromeda tetragona L. [family ERICACEAE ] Verified by Montes de Oca, P., 2011
Related name
  • Cassiope tetragona
  • Andromeda tetragona
Common name
  • Arctic white heather, Flora of North America Vol. 8

Flora

Entry for Cassiope tetragona (Linnaeus) D. Don [family ERICACEAE]
Herbarium
Flora of North America (FNA)
Collection
Flora of North America
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of North America, Vol 8,
Names
Cassiope tetragona (Linnaeus) D. Don [family ERICACEAE], Edinburgh New Philos. J., 17: 158. 1834 ,
Andromeda tetragona Linnaeus [family ERICACEAE], Sp. Pl., 1: 393. 1753
Treatment Author(s)
Gary D. Wallace
Information
Stems decumbent to erect, forming dense mats, hairy. Leaves closely imbricate, usually appressed to pair above, usually 4-ranked (decussate); blade narrowly triangular, dorsi-ventrally expanded marginally forming abaxial groove, 3–6 × 1–1.5 mm, margins thin, without curled hairs at leaf tips, surfaces with short, stiff pubescence. Flowers: sepals 2–3 mm, margins entire; petals connate to 2/3 their lengths, tips spreading to recurved, corolla white to yellowish, cylindric, 4–10 mm; stamens 2 mm. Capsules 3–5 mm. 2n = 26.
Distribution
n North AmericaEurasia.
Discussion
The Arctic plants of Cassiope tetragona all belong to subsp. tetragona, which is partially replaced by and partly sympatric with subsp. saximontana in northern Cordilleran areas of western Canada, Alaska, Montana, and Washington. The latter differs in pedicel length relative to leaf length and the length of the corolla.
Arctic white heather has traditionally been used by the Inuit for lighting fires. Some Inuit call it itsutit, meaning “fuel for the fire,” plantiksutit, or qijuktaat, meaning “wood fetched.” The flowers are said to taste awful (I. Ootoova et al. 2001).
The subspecies of Cassiope tetragona can generally be distinguished by the characters in the following key. The ranges overlap in Alaska and Yukon, and some collections from this region may prove problematic to assign to either subspecies.

Related Materials