Chamaedaphne calyculata

The leatherleaf or cassandra is a perennial plant in the heath or Ericaceae family and is the only species in the genus Chamaedaphne.

It is a low-growing shrub commonly seen in cold, acidic bogs and forms large, spreading colonies throughout the cool temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere from eastern North America to bogs in Finland and Japan.

• Leaves are evergreen but often turn red-brown in winter; they are simple, alternately arranged on the branch and elliptical to oblong-shaped, 1–4 cm long and 0.5-1.5 cm wide, thick and leathery, dull green above with minute, silvery scales, and paler green or brownish beneath, margins entire or slightly and irregularly toothed, with short petioles.
• Flowers are small (5–6 mm long), white, and bell-like, produced in terminal racemes up to 12 cm long, emerging from the axils of small leaves on the raceme; they have fused petals with 5 short lobes; flowering is from April to June.
• Fruit is a dry capsule that splits open to release seeds.