Leatherleaf, dwarf cassandra,

Leatherleaf grows in all peat bog microhabitats. It may form a denser cover in less wet sites, including brown sphagnum and black spruce tussucks. Leatherleaf does not seem to grow in calcareous peat bogs and prefers pH levels below 4.1. According to Marie-Victorin, leatherleaf will die if normal light levels are cut by one-third. This may explain why it is not often found in woods. It does grow in some scrubland dominated by speckled alder or bog myrtle, and in some open woods dominated by black spruce or larch. It is said to regenerate quickly after a fire. Deer and moose enjoy browsing on this plant. Common snipes, mallard ducks and black ducks like to build their nests on carpets of sphagnum moss hidden from predators under the relatively dense cover of these bushes.