About Lyonia ligustrina (L.) DC.
Lyonia ligustrina (L.) DC. is a species of flowering plant in the Ericaceae family, commonly known as maleberry and he-huckleberry. It is native to the eastern United States, where its range extends from Maine south to Florida, and west to Texas and Oklahoma. This plant grows as a shrub reaching up to 4 meters in height. It produces long rhizomes that can send up new stems up to 4 meters apart. Its stems have longitudinally furrowed bark. Depending on the variety, the plant may be deciduous or evergreen. Its leaves are oval-shaped, growing up to 10.5 centimeters long and 5 centimeters wide. It produces small white flowers, and its fruit is a small, dry capsule. Maleberry is a common plant across a range of habitat types, including savanna, bog, forest, pocosin, and swamp. It often occurs in ecotones, and can grow in both wet and dry habitats. It is fire-tolerant; if its aboveground portions are burned away, it will bud and send up new shoots from its rhizome. It often grows in fire-prone habitats such as pine barrens. The common names maleberry and he-huckleberry come from the fact that this species produces hard, dry capsules, rather than the fleshy, juicy, edible fruits that are typical of related Ericaceae species like huckleberries and blueberries.
