Pieris (plant)

For other uses of "Pieris", see Pieris (disambiguation).

Pieris
Pieris japonica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Subfamily: Vaccinioideae
Tribe: Lyonieae
Genus: Pieris
D.Don
Late spring foliage on Pieris

Pieris (/ˈpaɪ.ərɪs/ or /ˈpɪərɪs/[1])[2] is a genus of seven species of shrubs in the flowering plant family Ericaceae, native to mountain regions of eastern and southern Asia, eastern North America and Cuba. Known commonly in North America as andromedas or fetterbushes, they are broad-leaved evergreen shrubs growing to 1–6 metres (3 ft 3 in – 19 ft 8 in) tall and 3–10 ft (0.9–3.0 m) wide. The leaves are spirally arranged, often appearing to be in whorls at the end of each shoot with bare stretches of shoot below; they are lanceolate-ovate, 2–10 cm (0.8–3.9 in) long and 1.0–3.5 cm (0.4–1.4 in) broad, leathery textured, and with an entire or serrated margin. The young leaves in spring are typically brightly coloured. The flowers, which may have a very appealing honey scent, are bell-shaped, 5–15 mm (0.2–0.6 in) long, white or pink, and arranged in racemes 5–12 cm (2.0–4.7 in) long. The fruit is a woody capsule which splits into five sections to release the numerous small seeds.

Pieris species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the engrailed.

The genus name derives from Pieria, a place in Greece, according to Greek mythology the home of the Muses.[1]

  1. ^ a b "Oxford Languages | The Home of Language Data". languages.oup.com.
  2. ^ "Pieris". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)