Eastern Leatherwood
Dirca palustris
Among the earliest native shrubs to bloom — pale yellow flowers open before leaves emerge. Bark is famously flexible and rope-strong; impossible to snap a young branch. Slow-growing connoisseur shrub for woodlands.
- Family
- Thymelaeaceae
- Type
- shrub
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 4–6 ft
- Spacing
- 4–6 ft apart
- Light
- part shade, shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, alkaline, neutral
- Bloom
- March, April, May, June
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, mammals, songbirds
- Landscape uses
- naturalizing, rain garden
- Native states
- 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