NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Pieris floribunda

Mountain Andromeda, Evergreen Mountain Fetterbush

Scientific Name:	Pieris floribunda
Genus:	Pieris
Species Epithet:	floribunda
Common Name:	Mountain Andromeda, Evergreen Mountain Fetterbush
Plant Type	Shrub
Life Cycle	Perennial
Plant Family	Ericaceae (Heath Family)
Native/Alien:	NC Native
Invasive Status:	^(*Key)
Size:	3-6 ft.
Bloom Color(s):	White
Light:	Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day
Soil Moisture:	Dry
Bloom Time:	May, June
Growing Area:	Mountains, Piedmont
Habitat Description:	Acid wooded slopes, heath balds at high elevations, summits of Piedmont monadnocks, sometimes escaped from cultivation. A Southern Appalachian endemic. Rare to uncommon across its NC range, but can be rather numerous at high elevations in the southern mountains close to the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Great Balsam and Pisgah ranges. Very rare to locally absent from this province north to several monadnocks in Stokes and Surry counties. It is considered a State Watch List species.
Leaf Arrangement:	Alternate
Leaf Retention:	Evergreen
Leaf Type:	Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like
Leaf Form:	Simple
Life Cycle:	Perennial
Wildlife Value:	Important for Wildlife
Landscape Value:	Suitable for home landscapes
State Rank:	S2: Imperiled, S3: Vulnerable ^(*Key)
Global Rank:	G4 - Apparently Secure ^(*Key)
State Status:	W1: Watch List: Rare but Relatively Secure, W6: Watch List: Regionally Rare ^(*Key)
Notes:	Very specialized habitat
Pieris floribunda and Rhododendron vaseyii blossom before the trees leaf out in mid-May in the Pisgah National Forest at 5,000 foot elevations. Transylvania County, NC Will Stuart
Masses of Pieris floribunda covered with bright white blossoms line a 10-mile section of the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Graveyard Fields. Transylvania County, NC Will Stuart
Pieris floribunda blossom detail. Transylvania County, NC Will Stuart
Pieris floribunda along the Blue Ridge Parkway in autumn with next year's flower buds. Transylvania County, NC Will Stuart
Close-up of next year's flower buds. Transylvania County, NC Will Stuart
The developing fruit (capsules) will later turn brown and split open when ripe. Jackson Co., NC Bettina Darveaux
Links:	USDA PLANTS Database Record