vandaliatraveler: Autumn Berries, Volume 8: Eastern Teaberry. A low-growing, perennial ev
vandaliatraveler:Autumn Berries, Volume 8: Eastern Teaberry. A low-growing, perennial evergreen shrub in the heath (Ericaceae) family, eastern teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens) is as much at home in the dry, acidic earth of oak-hickory woods as it is in the wet sphagnum of mountain bogs. In late spring to early summer, teaberry produces white, bell-shaped flowers from stems extending from its leaf axils. The flowers are replaced in the fall by aromatic red berries, which persist through the winter. Also known as wintergreen, the plant tolerates partial to full shade but produces a heavier berry load in sunnier spots. The berries are edible and have a mild, mint-like flavor; their texture improves after the first frost. The leaves have been traditionally dried and boiled to make an herbal tea. To obtain a more concentrated flavor, the plant’s essential oil is extracted by extended fermentation and is used to flavor beer, candy, and chewing gum. Eastern teaberry forms extensive colonies on the forest floor by means of branching rhizomes, whose underground network of stems allows the plant to rapidly recover from brush fires. Along with trailing arbutus and partridge berry, eastern teaberry is one of the characteristic understory plants of mature oak-hickory forests, and its presence is an indicator of a healthy ecosystem. -- source link
#gaultheria procumbens#appalachia#native plants