Pieris japonica ‘Dorothy Wyckoff’ (Dorothy Wyckoff andromeda)

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Pieris japonica ‘Dorothy Wyckoff’

Dorothy Wyckoff andromeda, lily-of-the-valley bush, Japanese pieris, Japanese andromeda

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Ericales	Tea, persimmon, blueberry, Brazil nut, azalea, many others
Family	Ericaceae	Heath or heather family
Genus	Pieris	Andromeda or fetterbush
Species	japonica	Of or belonging to Japan, Japanese
Cultivar	‘Dorothy Wyckoff’

About plant names...

Japanese andromeda is native to China, Taiwan, and Japan. It is not found in the wild in North America, though it and its many cultivars are popular in gardens. This cultivar was introduced in 1960. Do you about the Dorothy Wyckoff for whom this cultivar is named? I cannot find any information about her.

Plants: An evergreen shrub 3-6½′ (1-2 m) in size. Twigs are hairless, and easily broken.

Leaves: Alternate, unlobed (simple), shiny, dark green, leathery leaves. The leaves have fine serrations, and are oblanceolate to obovate-oblong. Young leaves are orange-bronze.

Flowers: Flowers are abundant, forming drooping clusters up to 6″ (15 cm) around. Individual flowers are pink at first, later becoming white, about ¼″ (6.3 mm) long, and resemble small inverted urns. They look very similar to blueberry flowers, to which they are loosely related. The tip of each flower has 5 small lobes that spread outward. (The wild variety of Japanese andromeda has white flowers.) Flowers appear from March to April.

Fruits: Brown capsules with five valves are visible year-round. Each capsule is oval in shape, and about ⅛″ (3.2 mm) long.

Edibility: Poisonous Skull & Crossbones Leaves and flower nectar contain andromedotoxin, which can cause death to people or animals. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abnormal heart rhythms, and headache.