01.
A Bit of Botany
a little botanical information on wintergreen
description
Gaultheria procumbens a member of the Ericaceae family.
Wintergreen is a small
low-growing shrub, that typically reaching 10–15 centimeters (3.9–5.9 in) in height.
The leaves have a distinctive wintergreen scent are evergreen; they are shaped elliptic to ovate, 2–5 cm long and 1–2 cm broad.
Wintergreen's white flowers are bell-shaped, about 5 mm in length, and are borne solitary or in short racemes.
Wintergreen's berry-like fruit is in actuality
a dry capsule surrounded by fleshy calyx. The fruit is red and is about 6–9 mm diameter.
Wintergreen spreads by
means of long rhizomes, which are run along the top 20–30 mm of soil.
common names & nomenclature
The plant's common name of wintergreen refers to the plant's ability to remain "green in winter", as suggested by the Dutch wintergroen, and German Wintergrün.
Also known as:
checkerberry, boxberry, teaberry, hillberry, partridge berry, ground berry, hillberry, mountain tea, canada tea, wax cluster, eastern teaberry, american wintergreen, american mountain tea, canterberry, chickenberry, chinks, creeping wintergreen, deerberry, drunkards, gingerberry, ground tea, grouseberry, one-berry, procalm, red pollom, spice berry, squaw vine, star berry, spiceberry, spicy wintergreen, spring wintergreen, youngsters, ivory plum