Click on any image to open the slideshow
Lyonia ferruginea (Walter)Nutt.
Rusty Lyonia
Rusty Staggerbush
Staggerbush
Florida native
A common shrub of dry pine flatwoods and scrub in north and central Florida down to Lake Okeechobee. The range also includes Georgia and South Carolina.
Rusty lyonia will typically have several twisted trunks and can sometimes become nearly tree-like at up to 9m (30 ft.) tall. The alternate, simple, entire leaves are dark green above, frequently revolute, sometimes wavy, and up to 9cm long and 3cm wide. the undersides of mature leaves are paler and have a light pubescence. The undersides of young leaves are rust-colored from both a pubescence and scales of two sizes. The pedunculate white urn-shaped flowers appear in the spring on growth of the previous year. The fruit is a five-angled pubescent capsule 3-6mm (1/8 to 1/4 in.) long.
Very similar to L.fruticosa, L. ferruginea can usually be identified by having revolute leaves and the scales on the underside comprising of two different sizes.
Lyonia ferruginea is a member of the Ericaceae - Heath family.
Other species of the Lyonia genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Lyonia fruticosa - COASTALPLAIN STAGGERBUSH
Lyonia lucida - FETTERBUSH
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
iNaturalist profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: May 31, 2023
