Creeping Snowberry

Gaultheria hispudula

Foliage Type:

leaf

Arrangement:

simple, alternate

Distinguishing features: a creeping, aromatic evergreen plant with very slender, brownish-hairy stems leaves - short-stalked, roundish egg-shaped 1/8 to 3/8 inches long leaves - pointed or abruptly bristle-pointed at tip and broadly pointed to roundish at base margin - untoothed and rolled inward beneath leaves - leathery, shiny above, paler with closely pressed brown hairs beneath fruits - roundish, white, usually with some bristly brownish hairs, about 1/4 in diameter

Habitats:	wet mesic sites wet sites (bogs)
Often confused with:	small leaf cranberry partridge berry
Ecological Value:	fruits eaten by grouse, thrushes, chipmunks, mice
Did You Know?	fresh young leaves make a good wintergreen tea that is high in caffeine jams and preserves can be made from the berries overdoses of the oil in snowberry can be toxic
Uses / Ethnobotanical uses: