BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Rhododendron lapponicum
Lapland rosebay
| Scientific Name: | Rhododendron lapponicum (L.) Wahlenb. | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Lapland rosebay | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vascular Plant | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | RHODLAP | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Oct 2024) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S5 (Apr 2019) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
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| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2010) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
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| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | Rhododendron lapponicum occurs in "arctic and alpine tundra, rocky barrens and heaths or thickets, raised beach ridges, [and] sandy stream banks" (FNA 2009). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Elevation (m) (min / max): | Provincial: | ||||||||||
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Rhododendron lapponicum is a widespread subarctic or subalpine circumboreal species, occurring in North America, Europe (Russia, Scandinavia), and Asia (Siberia) (FNA 2009, POWO 2024). In North America, it occurs throughout Alaska and Canada (except for Manitoba and New Brunswick), and in Wisconsin, and New York north to Maine in the United States (FNA 2009). Range extent was estimated to be 57 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024). | ||||||||||
| Disjunct, more common elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | N. Ventrella (2024) | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Oct 09, 2024 | ||||||||||
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| Last Literature Search: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2009. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 8. Magnoliophyta: Paeoniaceae to Ericaceae. Oxford University Press, New York. xxiv + 585 pp. |
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Native Plant Trust. 2024. Go Botany website. Online. Available: https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org (accessed 2024). |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2024. Species Summary: Rhododendron lapponicum. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 9, 2026).