Lyonia lucida – Fetterbush

Lyonia lucida photographed at the High Ridge Scrub Natural Area in Palm Beach County.

Fetterbush, Lyonia lucida, is a common shrub throughout Florida and it has been recorded in every county in the state except Monroe and Suwannee counties. Besides Florida, it also occurs in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virgnia. It is found in bogs, cypress ponds, flatwoods, and scrub and is especially conspicuous in the spring, when it bears dainty small flowers that vary, depending on the plant, from very pale pink (almost white) to nearly red.

Image and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio