As noted in Carolina Nature’s entry for Lyonia lucida,“Confusingly Fetterbush refers to several different species; others include Eubotrys racemosa, Eubotrys recurva, and Pieris floribunda”. And I would add Leucothoe axillaris to that short list.
Two evergreen fetterbush likely to be encountered in Craven County are Lyonia lucida and Leucothoe axillaris. While superficially similar and often seen together in the forest understory, certain details make it easy to separate the two. Let’s start with the foliage. Lyonia has smooth (entire) leaf margins, as compared with the sparsely serrate margins of Leucothoe. A close look at the upper leaf surfaces reveals a prominent midvein on Lyonia, with very faint or obscure lateral veins. By comparison, Leucothoe axillaris leaves lack the prominent, raised midvein. But the lateral veins and connecting veins in between form a very visible and elaborate network across the upper leaf surface. Flowers of Lyonia lucida range from pink to red/burgundy to white. Flowers of Leucothoe axillaris tend more towards white to pink, and are seen as early as February in Craven County.
Both species are in the Ericaceae family and are highly toxic to people, pets and livestock if ingested.
