A dwarf, evergreen shrub of creeping habit, about 3 in. high, forming dense mats; shoots wiry, rooting freely. Leaves very small, erica-like, oblong, glabrous, spreading and not appressed as in other species. Flowers nodding and terminal on very short erect stalks; corolla creamy white, tinged pink, bell-shaped, 1⁄4 to 3⁄8 in. diameter, four-lobed; stamens eight.
Native of the N. Pacific region from British Columbia to Japan; it was first described, figured and named by Pallas in 1789 under Andromeda and transferred to Cassiope by De Candolle in 1838, but not often seen in cultivation. It flowers very freely in April and was given an Award of Merit at Vincent Square in 1937. It is one of the most charming of dwarf Ericaceae and likes a moist, well-drained, peaty or open, lime-free soil and a sunny position. Admirable for the rock garden.