Leucothoe is a genus of about 6 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to Asia and the Americas.[1] Many species have the common name doghobble. Leucothoe species contain grayanotoxins, a group of closely related neurotoxins named after Leucothoe grayana, native to Japan.[2]

Leucothoe
Leucothoe axillaris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Subfamily: Vaccinioideae
Tribe: Gaultherieae
Genus: Leucothoe
D.Don

They are shrubs growing to 1–3 m tall, either deciduous or evergreen depending on species. The leaves are alternate, oblong-lanceolate, 2–15 cm long. The flowers are produced in racemes 3–15 cm long, each flower bell-shaped, 4–20 mm long, white or occasionally pink.

Selected species

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Leucothoe D. Don". Flora of China.
  2. ^ Senning A (2007). Elsevier's Dictionary of Chemoetymology. Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-444-52239-9.
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