Dirca palustris

Leatherwood is a native deciduous shrub found in forested or natural areas in rich woods. It prefers moist, humus-rich sandy or clay soils in shade to part shade. It forms a dense, rounded form with pale green, oval-shaped leaves and blooms in early spring with small yellow bell-shaped flowers followed by drupes. It is fairly rare and not used in the landscape often as it can be hard to find. In nature, it can be found growing in very rich forests, on slopes or bottomlands, and is limited to calcareous or mafic rocks such as limestone, calcareous siltstone, calcareous shale, gabbro, or amphibolite. It can be found in Ashe County NC ascending to 1500 meters elevation. 

Foliage turns yellow in fall. Long-lived and slow-growing. Pliable twigs used as cordage by Native Americans. Fruits and roots have slight toxicity; some people's skin reacts to exposure to the bark.