ERICACEAE — HEATH FAMILY 665 



The California mountain laurel (R. californicum) is a very attractive ornamental 

 shrub or small tree and one of the most handsome of the genus in North 

 America. Among the other cultivated members of this family, mention may 

 be made of the mountain laurel (Kahnia latifolia) . The South African species 

 of the genus are frequently cultivated in conservatories. The Scotch heather 

 {Calluna vulgaris) of Europe has been found on Nantucket Island. The May 

 flower or trailing arbutus (Bpigaea repens) is well known to people living in 

 the Eastern and Northern States. The rich, spicy fragrance makes it one of 

 the most attractive of our early flowering plants. Several species of the genus 

 Vaccinium are cultivated for their fruits. Among them are cranberries; the 

 larger berry being V. macrocarpon, which is the most common species in North 

 America, and is cultivated extensively in Wisconsin, Michigan, New Jersey and 

 Massachusetts. The smaller cranberry V. Oxycoccus is also sold under the 

 name of Lingon berries and is common in Sweden and Norway and far north- 

 ward in North America. The berries of this fruit are smaller and more acid 

 than are those of V. macrocarpon. 



The blue berries and huckleberries are obtained from several native species 

 of the genus Vaccinium of the East. Dwarf blueberries of our northern dry 

 woods are •(F. pennsylvanicuin and V. canadense). Another blueberry (V. 

 vacillans) produces a sweet edible berry and occurs from Maine to Missouri. 

 The mountain blueberry of the southern Alleghanies is V. corymbosum, var. 

 pallidum. The tall blueberry (V. corymbosum) has a pleasant acid flavor, 

 and attains a height of S-10 feet. In the Rocky Mountain, Lake Superior and 

 White Mountain regions, there are several species of blueberries as V. caespit- 

 osum with blue sweet berries and V. membranaceum, which produces large black 

 berries, and grows from 1-5 feet high. ' 



The huckleberry (F. stamineum) is not edible, nor is the fruit of the small 

 tree known as farkle berry (V. arboreum). The huckleberry {Gaylussacia 

 baccata) is edible. These come up spontaneously in burnt areas. The fruit 

 is gathered from Maine to Minnesota. The shallon (Gaultheria Shallon) of 

 the Pacific coast, is a shrub or small tree with stout erect branches, and produces 

 edible fruit with a spicy aromatic flavor. There are several species of arbutus, 

 one of which, Madrona {Arbutus Menziesii), forms a tree 1-6 feet in diameter 

 and 20-100 feet high, the wood being used for cabinet work. The strawberry 

 tree {Arbutus Unedo) is a native of Southern Europe to northern Africa. The 

 fruit when ripe resembles the strawberry, but is not edible. Several members 

 of the order are used in medicine. One species only, however, is generally 

 recognized. The Pipsissewa {Chimaphila umbellata) used for cutaneous erup- 

 tions, contains chimaphin C^^Hj^O^. The bear-berry {Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi) 

 is found throughout the mountain regions of North America — Pennsylvania, 

 Illinois, Missouri to Nebraska, the Rocky Mountains and northward. It is an 

 astringent tonic used in diseases of the liver, and contains ericolin ; arbutin, 

 ursone Cj^H^gO. The wintergreen {Gaultheria procumbens) is a small creep- 

 ing shrub with evergreen leaves and edible fruit, and is used for the production 

 of the oil of wintergreen which serves as an aromatic stimulant and also in 

 rheumatism. The fragrance is due to a volatile oil. 



Drs. Price and L'Engle quite recently mention a case of poisoning from 

 the oil of wintergreen. In this case a child swallowed the contents of a bottle 

 containing oil of Gaultheria. The symptoms of poisoning were increased pulse, 

 labored and irregular respiration, hearing impaired, some hallucinations of 

 vision, twitching of heart and weak diarrhoea. The child died. 



