Buckleya distichophylla (Nuttall) Torrey. Phen: Apr-May; Jul-Oct. Hab: Dry or rocky bluffs and slopes, usually with pines or hemlock, and most common in scrubby pine-oak/heath woodlands, also rich woods and stream banks. Dist: A Southern Appalachian endemic: sw. VA south through ne. TN to sw. NC, in the western edge of the Blue Ridge and to the west in the Ridge and Valley.
ID notes: The branches, with their neat and distichous array of simple leaves, are often mistaken for a compound leaf.
Origin/Endemic status: Endemic
Other Comments: Buckleya distichophylla is apparently parasitic on a variety of hosts – not limited to Tsuga, as has sometimes been reported. Huish, Manow, & McMullen (2015) discuss its reproductive biology.
Synonymy: = C, F, FNA12, G, K1, K3, K4, RAB, S, Tn, Va, W, Carvell & Eshbaugh (1982)