Taxonomy
Family: Ericaceae
Habitat
Sandy acid soils. Also acidic peaty soils at the edge of bogs and marshes. Pine barrens
Associates
In sandy oak woods with Quercus nigra and Vaccinum angustifolum.
Distribution
Morphology
Low, creeping, evergreen shrub. Leaves 1-2" long, oval, slightly toothed. Flowers 5-parted, white, bell-shaped, nodding, solitary or in groups of 2 or 3, from leaf axils. Fruit a bright red, berry-like capsule, persisting into winter. Stems with the flowering branches ascending.
Notes
Flowers early July to late August
Wetland indicator: Facultative upland
The original source of wintergreen oil, the leaves emit the distinct wintergreen odor when crushed. Fruits are edible, sweet, and taste like wintergreen. Can form small vegetative colonies.
Bibliography
Niering, W. A. 1979. The Audubon society field guide to North American
wildflowers: eastern region.
Knopf/Random House, New York.
Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.
Michael Hough © 2004 |