Leatherwood is a native deciduous shrub found in forested or natural areas in rich woods. It prefers moist, humus-rich sandy or clay soils in shade to part shade. It forms a dense, rounded form with pale green, oval-shaped leaves and blooms in early spring with small yellow bell-shaped flowers followed by drupes. It is fairly rare and not used in the landscape often as it can be hard to find. In nature, it can be found growing in very rich forests, on slopes or bottomlands, and is limited to calcareous or mafic rocks such as limestone, calcareous siltstone, calcareous shale, gabbro, or amphibolite. It can be found in Ashe County NC ascending to 1500 meters elevation. Foliage turns yellow in fall. Long-lived and slow-growing. Pliable twigs used as cordage by Native Americans. Fruits and roots have slight toxicity; some people's skin reacts to exposure to the bark.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Wet
Available space
6-feet-12 feet
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 4 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 4 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Multi-stemmed; Spreading
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Obovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Smooth
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
3-4 inch long leaves are yellow-green when new and mature to medium green in summer. Fall color is bright yellow.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow
Flower color
Gold/Yellow
Flower form
Spike
Flower shape
Bell
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Pale yellow flowers have long yellow stamens, are bell-shaped, and up to 1/3 inch long. They are borne in axillary clusters in the early spring. In North Carolina, flowers are available from March to April.
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit color
Gold/Yellow; Green; Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Drupe
Fruit detail
Green to red drupe. In North Carolina, the yellow-green fruits are available from June to July.
Bark color
Dark Gray
Bark detail
wrinkled gray bark, fibrous bark
Stem color
Brown/Copper
Stem detail
Brown jointed twigs with ring-like joints are very flexible
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
East Canada to North Central & Eastern U.S.A
Distribution
AL , AR , CT , DC , DE , FL , GA , IA , IL , IN , KY , LA , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , MO , MS , NC , ND , NH , NJ , NY , OH , OK , PA , SC , TN , VA , VT , WI , WV Canada: NB , NS , ON
Wildlife value
Birds and small mammals enjoy the fruits as a food source.
Attracts
Bees; Small Mammals; Songbirds
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Spring; Summer
Fruit type
Drupe
Uses (ethnobotany)
Native Americans used the twigs and bark for bowstrings, baskets, fishing line and rope