Summary: Discover the unique characteristics and growth habits of the Leatherwood shrub (Dirca palustris), an American native plant that blooms early in spring, with tips on how to care for and incorporate it into your garden landscape.
Leatherwood is one of the earliest shrubs to bloom in spring. They are distinguished by their complete lack of pretensions and a unique growth habit that permits instant recognition. They are also 100% percent American.
Key Takeaways
- Leatherwood shrubs are native to America, with two species found in the eastern and western parts of the country.
- The bark of the Leatherwood shrub is extremely durable and was used by Native Americans for bindings.
- Leatherwood shrubs bloom in early spring, with small clusters of pale yellow tubular flowers.
- The shrubs have an interesting growth habit, with a short, stocky trunk and a crown of branches that may twist and bend as the plant ages.
- Leatherwood shrubs can thrive in well-drained locations and are best paired with small-stature evergreens in the garden.
Eastern Leatherwood: A Unique American Native
Of the two species that exist worldwide, one is native to the eastern part of the country, and the other hails from California. Their closest relatives are the daphnes, a much larger and more cosmopolitan genus.
Eastern leatherwood (Dirca palustris) has an abundance of distinctive common names. In addition to the one generally favored, one might occasionally hear moose-wood (particularly in New York State), wicopy (a Cree word used in the Great Lakes area), and boil de plomb (in Quebec).
The name leatherwood is in reference to the extreme durability of the bark, which was used by the Native Americans for thongs and bindings. This shrub grows wild in wet woodlands and thickets from New Brunswick and the Great Lakes region southward to Florida and the lower Mississippi.
In addition to being unusually pliant, dirca branchlets are rather slender but noticeably enlarged at the nodes and at the ends. This gives the smaller branches a characteristic jointed appearance.
Distinctive Bark and Branches
In addition, the bark is so very fibrous and has so much tensile strength that it is almost impossible to break even a smaller branchlet.
The silky-haired conic buds push out into small clusters of three or four pale yellow tubular flowers in March or April. Eight stamens and a thin style protruding from the tube make these modest blooms resemble small tassels as much as anything else.
They are a little less than half an inch long in size. However, this is probably enough delicate flower tissue to expose to the early season’s chill winds and cold nights.
Early Spring Blooms and Leaves
The flowers are still in their prime when new leaves appear at the base of the clusters. The fresh green of the leaves is actually every bit as eye-catching as the flowers.
This is because the delicate pale green has been removed from the outdoor scene for many months. Its return always seems an event of great excitement.
The leaves are elliptic in outline and arranged alternately along the shoots. They are usually from 2” to 3″ inches long and retain a soft yellowish-green tone, as though carrying on the color effect of the flowers.
The short leafstalks are also interesting because once they are fully developed, they will be found to have a cone-shaped cavity ‘at the very base, which fits entirely around the axillary bud. These buds contain flowers and shoot beginnings for the succeeding year.
Leatherwood fruits mature quickly, usually by early summer. They are about 3/8″ inches long and seem to be greenish or reddish berries. They are actually the same type of fruit as a peach or plum, with a single pit-like seed housed inside the fleshy outer portion.
Parenthetically, it might be noted that neither these fruits nor the leaves should be eaten.
Fruits and Cautions
With flowers at a time when even modest encouragement from the outdoors gives gardeners a renewed heart, and with foliage turning a rich yellow in autumn, leatherwoods have yet another attraction.
This is their interesting growth habit – for many admirers, this is the most beautiful quality of all. While these shrubs seldom exceed 6′ feet in height (4’ to 5′ feet might be considered more typical), they have the same short, stocky single trunk and nicely proportioned crown of branches as a small formal tree.
When heavily burdened with snow or ice and possibly also in wind and rainstorms, the crown’s weight often pulls the trunks to one side. Thus, while young plants are usually formal and upright in appearance, older ones may be twisted and bent in a picturesque fashion.
Growing Leatherwood in Your Garden
One finds dirca growing wild in wet woods, usually in the company of red and silver maples, pepperidges, sweet-gums, and swamp white oaks.
Strangely enough, the general rule for furnishing the same garden environment as a plant has in the wild does not seem to apply to this shrub. However, this may be the redeeming exception!
Leatherwoods often give the best accounts of themselves in well-drained locations in gardens. They can even thrive in dry situations and when fully exposed to sunlight in the northeastern states.
The root system of leatherwoods seems small in proportion to the tops, and, as with the daphnes, transplanting should be done with care. Small plants set out in winter or spring, with a ball of soil around the roots, give the best results.
Leaf mold or leafy compost is the best material to encourage rapid establishment and strong root growth. Mulching with leaves or compost is valuable to preserve moisture and keep the roots cool.
Associate plants for leatherwoods should be selected with discrimination, for rapid and coarse-growing shrubs will crowd and envelop these modest natives.
In sunny situations, they appear to best advantage with prostrate junipers or other evergreens of small stature, particularly such low types as Waukegan or Andorra junipers.