Cassiope mertensiana
Gen. Hist. 3: 829. 1834,.
Stems spreading or ascending to erect, forming dense mats, puberulent, glandular-hairy, or glabrous. Leaves imbricate, somewhat appressed to leaf above, usually 4-ranked; blade ovate-lanceolate, abaxial groove absent, 3–4.5 × 1–1.5 mm, margins thin but not scarious, without curled hairs at leaf tips, surfaces glabrous to glandular-hairy or sparsely hairy. Flowers: sepals 2–3 mm, margins entire or erose; petals connate to 1/3 their lengths, tips recurved, corolla white, campanulate, 5–8 mm; stamens to 3 mm. Capsules 1.5–4 mm.
Distribution
Alta., B.C., Alaska, Calif., Idaho, Mont., Nev., Oreg., Wash.
Discussion
Subspecies 4 (4 in the flora).
Four subspecies were recognized by Piper, based on differences in pubescence of the stems and leaf margins.
Selected References
None.
Lower Taxa
Key
| 1 | Stems hairy, especially when young, glandular hairs absent; leaf blade margins glabrous. | Cassiope mertensiana subsp. mertensiana |
| 1 | Stems glabrous or sparsely glandular-hairy when young; leaf blade margins glandular-hairy, scattered eglandular-hairy, or glabrous | > 2 |
| 2 | Leaf blade margins glabrous | Cassiope mertensiana subsp. gracilis |
| 2 | Leaf blade margins glandular-hairy or scattered eglandular-hairy | > 3 |
| 3 | Leaf blade margins glandular-hairy; stems glabrous or sometimes sparsely glandular-hairy when young. | Cassiope mertensiana subsp. californica |
| 3 | Leaf blade margins scattered, branched eglandular-hairy, especially when young; stems glabrous when young. | Cassiope mertensiana subsp. ciliolata |