''Phyllodoce empetriformis'', the pink mountain-heather or pink mountain-heath, is found in mountainous regions of western North America in the

Northwestern United States The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. ...

and

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

. Its southern range includes the

Klamath Range The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast ...

in northern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

. ''Phyllodoce empetriformis'' is a low matting shrub with distinctive leaves which roll under themselves so tightly they resemble pine needles. It bears attractive flowers in shades of pink and purple. It is one of the parents of the artificial hybrid × ''Phyllothamnus erectus'', the other being ''

Rhodothamnus chamaecistus ''Rhodothamnus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, disjunctly found in the Alps and Anatolia. Species Species accepted by The Plant List, are as follows: *''Rhodothamnus chamaecistus'' (L.) Rchb. *''Rhodothamnus lea ...

''.

Description

This common (in its native bioregion) evergreen alpine shrub bears its red-purple flower clustered at the end of the stem in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ...

s. The flowers of ''Phyllodoce glanduliflora'', for comparison, are yellow or green-white. In ''Phyllodoce empetriformis'', the campanulate corolla is twice as long as the calyx (compared to ''Phyllodoce gladuliflora'', which has a corolla just barely twice as long as the calyx and is urn-shaped). Its sepals and filaments are glabrous or barely hairy (compared to ''Phyllodoce glanduliflora'' which has pubescent sepals and filaments). Phyllodoce empetriformis 0598.JPG, Bell-shaped red-purple flowers are clustered near the stem-tips. Pink mountain-heather in Clearwater Wilderness, WA (DSC 0663).jpg, Close-up

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfilePhoto gallery
Ericoideae Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of Alaska Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Ericaceae-stub