The leaves are evergreen, alternately arranged, lanceolate, 1–5 cm (1⁄2–2 in) long and 2–8 mm (0.08–0.31 in) broad, dark green above (purplish in winter) and white beneath with the leaf margins curled under.

There are two varieties, treated as distinct species by some botanists: The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus who observed it during his 1732 expedition to Lapland and compared the plant to Andromeda from Greek mythology.

The specific epithet is a noun in apposition, which Linnaeus based on Johann Christian Buxbaum's pre-Linnaean generic designation Polifolia.

Many fossil seeds of †Andromeda carpatica have been extracted from borehole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland.

This fungal community plays a role in the decomposition of the plant's leaf litter and contributes to the overall carbon cycling in the bog ecosystem.