Gaultheria procumbens
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Gaultheria procumbens, also called the eastern teaberry, the checkerberry,Template:Efn the boxberry, or the American wintergreen, is a species of Gaultheria native to northeastern North America from Newfoundland west to southeastern Manitoba, and south to Alabama.<ref name=grin>Template:GRIN</ref> It is a member of the Ericaceae (heath family).<ref name=Dwelley>Template:Cite book</ref>
Growth and habitatEdit
G. procumbens is a small, low-growing shrub, typically reaching Template:Cvt tall. The leaves are evergreen, elliptic to ovate, Template:Cvt long and Template:Cvt broad, with a distinct oil of wintergreen scent.
The flowers are pendulous, with a white, sometimes pink-tinged,<ref>Template:Minnesota Wildflowers</ref> bell-shaped corolla with five teeth at the tip Template:Cvt long, and above it a white calyx. They are borne in leaf axils, usually one to three per stem. The anthers are forked somewhat like a snake's tongue, with two awns at the tip.<ref name="FNA">Template:EFloras</ref>
The fruit is red and Template:Cvt across.<ref name="FNA" /> It is an epigynous berry, with the majority of the flesh of the fruit being composed of the fleshy calyx.
The plant is a calcifuge, favoring acidic soil, in pine or hardwood forests, although it generally produces fruit only in sunnier areas.<ref name="feis">Template:FEIS</ref> It often grows as part of the heath complex in an oak–heath forest.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
G. procumbens spreads by means of long rhizomes, which are within the top Template:Cvt of soil. Because of the shallow nature of the rhizomes, it does not survive most forest fires, but a brief or mild fire may leave rhizomes intact, from which the plant can regrow even if the above-ground shrub was consumed.<ref name="feis"/>
This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.<ref name=AGM>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EdibilityEdit
The fruits of G. procumbens, considered its actual "teaberries", are edible, with a taste of mildly sweet wintergreen similar to the flavors of the Mentha varieties M. piperita (peppermint) and M. spicata (spearmint) even though G. procumbens is not a true mint. The leaves and branches make a fine herbal tea, through normal drying and infusion process. For the leaves to yield significant amounts of their essential oil, they need to be fermented for at least three days.<ref name=HealthfulHerb>Template:Cite book</ref> The berries and leaves contain methyl salicylate, a compound that is closely related to aspirin.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Teaberry extract can be used to flavor tea, candy, medicine and chewing gum.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Teaberry is also a regional flavor of ice cream in Pennsylvania.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It likewise inspired the name of Clark's Teaberry chewing gum.
Wildlife valueEdit
Wintergreen is not taken in large quantities by any species of wildlife, but the regularity of its use enhances its importance. Its fruit persist through the winter, and it is one of the few sources of green leaves in winter. White-tailed deer browse wintergreen throughout its range, and in some localities it is an important winter food. Other animals that eat wintergreen are wild turkey, sharp-tailed grouse, northern bobwhite, ring-necked pheasant, black bear, white-footed mouse, and red fox. Wintergreen is a favorite food of the eastern chipmunk, and the leaves are a minor winter food of the gray squirrel in Virginia.<ref name="feis" />
Common namesEdit
Other common names for G. procumbens include American mountain tea, boxberry, Canada tea, canterberry, checkerberry, chickenberry, creeping wintergreen, deerberry, drunkards, gingerberry, greenberry, ground berry, ground tea, grouseberry, hillberry, mountain tea, one-berry, procalm, red pollom, spice berry, squaw vine, star berry, spiceberry, spicy wintergreen, spring wintergreen, teaberry, wax cluster, and youngsters.<ref name=AGM /><ref name=Lust>Template:Cite book</ref>
While this plant is sometimes mistakenly known as partridge berry,<ref name=Hall>Template:Cite book</ref> that name more often refers to the ground cover Mitchella repens.
Traditional useEdit
The plant has been used by various tribes of Native Americans for medicinal purposes. The Delaware, Mohicans, and several other tribes made a tea from wintergreen leaves to treat kidney disorders. The Great Lakes and Eastern Woodlands tribes used a wintergreen poultice as a topical treatment for arthritic pain.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Clark's Teaberry
- Teaberry ice cream
- Wintergreens
- Gaultheria humifusa - alpine wintergreen
- Gaultheria ovatifolia - western teaberry or Oregon spicy wintergreen
GalleryEdit
- Wintergreen (1019722783).jpg
The forked anthers in a dissected flower
- Gaultheria procumbens - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-064.jpg
19th century illustration
- Teaberry (4411065123).jpg
Dense growth with berries and red-tinged new leaves