For an embarrassingly long time, I was unable to identify this shrub despite its unique winter characteristics. So for years I simply referred to it as the “purple bud bush”. On a walk with the local botany club a few years ago, the leader provided me with a name: “fetterbush”. I was happy to have something more specific to call it, and until today, I’d left it at that. 

In attempting to look up some interesting information about fetterbush to write this blog post, I flipped through all my guide books and naturalist resources and was confused to find only one passing reference to a fetterbush (Lyonia lucida). Shifting to Google to continue my search, I quickly came across a number of websites that showed fetterbush’s range as only extending from Louisiana to Virginia. For a moment, I thought those range maps were perhaps out of date, but even iNaturalist lacked a single Lyonia lucida observation north of Virginia. But I’ve found it at numerous locations on Cape Cod. I couldn’t possibly be the only one who’d noticed it was here. 

After some additional digging, and essentially starting back at square one where I had no idea what plant I was dealing with, it turns out that while my purple bud bush is occasionally called fetterbush, it is also referred to by a number of other names, including swamp doghobble, swamp sweetbells and deciduous dog-laurel. And, to make matters more confusing, since it has recently been taxonomically reclassified, it has not one, but two scientific names depending on what source you’re consulting: Eubotrys racemosa and Leucothoe racemosa. The fact that the same common name is often used to refer to more than one species is one of the best examples of why common names are not always a reliable way to refer to a species.  

Phew… Now that we’ve figured that out, here are a few interesting facts about the shrub pictured here (you can choose what to call it at this point, but I may actually go back to calling it “purple bud bush”, as that was much less confusing):

• Native to the eastern U.S. from Massachusetts to Texas. 
• In the summer, it produces rows of bell-shaped white flowers along racemes – the source of its species name racemosa. These flowers have the characteristic bell-shape of other heath family plants, such as leatherleaf and blueberries. 
• Found throughout the coastal plain in forests, fields and wetland edges.
• Like maleberry, it produces 5-parted woody seed capsules, rather than an edible fruit like blueberries.
• It has 2- to 3-inch finely toothed narrow leaves. 
• It is reportedly poisonous to livestock, a quality it shares with other members of the heath family, such as sheep laurel.