572 



ERICACEAE. 



i. Gaultheria procumbens L/. 



A 



Spring or Creeping Wintergreen. 

 berry. (Fig. 2775.) 



Gaultheria procumbens L. Sp. PI. 395. 



[Vol.. II. 

 Checker- 



J753- 



Nearly glabrous throughout, aromatic; stems 

 slender, creeping or subterranean; branches erect, 

 2'-6' high. Leaves mostly clustered at the ends of 

 the branches, oval, oblong or obovate, obtuse or 

 acute, narrowed at the base, short-petioled, the 

 margins slightly revolute and serrate with low 

 bristle-tipped teeth, dark green and shining above, 

 pale beneath, i'-2' long; flowers usually solitary in 

 the axils, on recurved peduncles 2 // -4 // long, 2- 

 bracteolate under the calyx; corolla ovoid-urceolate, 

 white, 5-toothed, 2 // ~3 // long; fruit depressed-glo- 

 bose, slightly s-lobed, bright red, 4 // -6 // in diame- 

 ter, mealy, very spicy in flavor. 



In woods, especially under evergreen trees, New- 

 foundland to Manitoba, south to southern New Jersey, 

 Georgia and Michigan. June-Sept. Fruit ripe late in 

 the autumn, remaining on the olant until spring. Other 

 names are Box-, Ground-, Tea-, or Partridge-ben^ 

 Deer-, Hill-, Spice-berry, Ivory Plum, Mountain Tea. ' 



19. ARCTOSTAPHYLOS Adans. Fam. PI. 2: 165. 1763. 



Erect or spreading, low or tall shrubs (some western species small trees). Leaves alter- 

 nate, petioled, firm or coriaceous, persistent, evergreen. Flowers small, nodding, pedicelled, 

 white or pink, in terminal racemes, panicles or clusters. Calyx 4-5-parted, persistent. 

 Corolla globose, ovoid, urceolate or oblong-cam pan ulate, 4-5-lobed, the lobes recurved, im- 

 bricated in the bud. Stamens 10, rarely 8, included; filaments short, subulate; anthers 

 short, erect, introrse, with 2 recurved awns on the back, the sacs opening by a terminal 

 pore. Disk 8-io-lobed. Ovary 4- lo-celled; ovules solitary in the cavities; style slender. 

 Fruit a drupe, with 4-10 seed-like nutlets coherent into a solid stone. [Greek, bear-berry.] 

 About 20 species, the following of the northern hemisphere, the others of western North America. 



* 



i. Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi (L.) Spreng. 

 Red Bearberry. Kinnikinic. (Fig. 2776.) 



Arbutus Uva-Ursi L. Sp. PI. 395. 1753. 

 Arctoslafihylos Uva-Ursi Spreng. Syst. a: 287. 1825. 



Trailing or spreading on the ground, branched; 

 branches 6 / -24 / long, the twigs puberulent. Leaves 

 spatulate, coriaceous, obtuse, entire, evergreen, gla- 

 brous or minutely puberulent toward the base, #'-i' 

 long, 2 // -5 // wide, finely reticulate- veined; petioles 

 about i" long, puberulent; flowers few in short ra- 

 cemes; pedicels i // -2 // long; corolla ovoid, constricted 

 at the throat, white, about 2" long; drupe globose, 

 red, glabrous, insipid, rather dry, $"-5" in diameter, 

 usually containing 5 coalescent nutlets, each i-nerved 

 on the back. 



In dry, sandy or rocky soil, Labrador and arctic America 

 to Alaska, south to southern New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 

 Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, Colorado and California. 

 Also in Northern Europe and Asia. May-June. Called 

 also Fox- or Meal-berry, Bear's Grape, Barren Myrtle or 

 Bilberry. 



20. MAI RAN I A Neck. Elem. i: 219. 1790. 

 [ARCTOUS Niedenzu, Engl. Bot. Jahrb. n: 141. 1890.] 



A low shrub, with shreddy bark, alternate thin deciduous leaves clustered toward the 

 ends of the branches, and small white clustered pedicelled flowers. Calyx 4-5-parted. 

 Corolla 4-5-toothed, the short teeth spreading or recurved. Stamens 8 or 10, included; an- 

 ther-sacs with 2 recurved dorsal awns. Ovary 4~5-celled ; ovules i in each cavity. Drupe 

 globose, with 4 or 5 separate i -seeded nutlets. 



A monotypic genus of the arctic zone and high mountain summits. 



