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Evergreen Bearberry,
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng. Height: A low evergreen shrub with numerous sprawling and spreading, flexible branches, forming extensive prostrate mats. New branchlets are covered with fine hairs and are smooth, dark reddish-brown or gray, with peeling papery bark. The variety coactilis Fern. & Macbr. Has young branchlets permanently fine-hairy but not sticky. Leaves: Alternate, entire, thick, leathery, 1.3-2 cm long, spatula-shaped and round at the tip, narrowing towards the base. Both surfaces are shiny and the margins are often fringed with tiny hairs. The uppersurface is dark green and the undersurface paler. In the winter the under surface is chocolate colored. Flowers: Urn-shaped, about 5 mm long, white or pale pink, in terminal clusters (racemes) of 4 or 5. The corolla has 5 rounded lobes that are rosy tinged. There are 10 purple stamens. Blooms in June. Fruit: Bright red drupes, 7-8 mm in diameter, and capped by a persistent calyx. There is a single stone consisting of several nutlets. The fruit are edible but the mealy pulp is flavorless. Ripen by mid-August and remain on the bush throughout winter. The fruit provide winter food for birds. Also, they are decorative for making Christmas wreaths. Habitat: Found throughout Newfoundland and southern Labrador on exposed heathlands, rocky barrens, talus slopes and the forest floor. Source:
Native Trees and Shrubs Used
with permission from
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