Andromeda polifolia L. (Ericaceae), three kinds of Finnish plants (on the left: Kuusamo, Juuma, 1978; in the middle: Inkoo, Krämars, 1988; on the right: Lohja, Laakspohja, 1988). – Image: Harri Harmaja (scanned from dried specimens). – The middle plant represents the "typical" morph of Finland. The leaves of the broad-leaved morph are rather patent as compared with the other morphs. The broad-leaved and the medium-leaved plants often grow in the same sites but the broad-leaved ones apparently prefer a bit more shady places with thinner peat layer. Plants with the narrowest leaves are mostly found in the most oligotrophic sites of ombrotrophic bogs in southern Finland: in communities dominated by Eriophorum vaginatum. Such plants may be commoner in northern Finland. The name A. polifolia f. acerosa C.Hartm. applies to this morph. Yet, it is unresolved whether the variability of A. polifolia leaves is truly genetically determined.
Created September 14, 2004.