Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Menziesia ferruginea is a species of flowering plant in the heath family known by several common names, including rusty menziesia, false huckleberry, and mock azalea. It is native to northwestern North America from Alaska through the Pacific Northwest to Wyoming, where it is a member of the flora in mountain forests. It grows in the understory of subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), Pacific silver fir (A. amabilis), western redcedar (Thuja plicata), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), and other conifers. The plant prefers cold, wet, densely vegetated areas where it can grow in deep shade. This is a mostly erect or spreading shrub often exceeding 3 meters in height, reaching shorter maximum heights at higher elevations. Its branches are coated in thin, scaly, shreddy bark and its twigs with fine hairy hairs. The alternately arranged deciduous leaves are oval in shape with pointed tips, reaching 4 to 6 centimeters long. The leaves are hairy, hairy, and sticky in texture, and have an unpleasant skunklike odor when crushed. The flower cluster is a loose cluster of hanging bell- or cup-shaped flowers in shades of pink to orange to yellow-green. The flower has 4 to 5 petals which are mostly fused into a cylinder, and eight stamens inside. The fruit is a valved capsule under a centimeter long which contains many seeds.

Plant type

Shrub

Size

10 - 13 ft Tall

Dormancy

Winter Deciduous

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Color

Pink, Yellow, Orange, Green

Sun

Deep Shade, Partial Shade

Sunset Zones

1, 4*, 5*, 6, 15, 16, 17

Plant communities

Forest

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 2 likely

Confirmed Likely

Western Pero Moth

Pero occidentalis

Hoary Comma

Polygonia gracilis