chap. lxix. #rica'ce;e. ^rctosta'phylos. II '23 



Genus XIV. 



P 



.4RCTOSTA'PHYLOS Adam. The Bearberry. Lin. Syst. Decandria 



Monogynia. 



Identification. Gall. Adans. Fam. ; H. B. et Kunth Nov. Gen. Amer., 8. p. 277. ; Spreng. Syst., 2. 



p. 287. 

 Synonymes. ITva-ursi Dod., Tourn. ; J'rbutus sp. Lin. 

 Derivation. From arktos, a bear, and staphule, a grape. 



Description. Evergreen undershrubs, natives of Europe and of North and 

 South America. 



Sts. 1. A. UVa-u'rsi Spreng. The common Bearberry. 



Identification. Spreng. Syst., 2. p. 827. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 835. 



Synonymes. yfrbutus ITva-ursi Lin. Sp., 566., Ft. Lapp., No. 162., t. 6. f. 3., Woodv. Med. Hot., 

 194. t.70., Ft. Dan., t.33., Blackw., t. 592., Smith Eng. Bot., 714. ; ^'rbutus Auxifblia Stokes Bot., 

 509.; UVa-iirsi Auxifblia Sal. in Gray's Arr., 2. p. 400. ; Bearberries, and Bear-whortle-berries, 

 Eng. ; Barentraube, or Barenbeere, Ger. ; Beerenduuif, Dutch. ; la Basscrole, Fr. ; Uva d'Orzo, 

 Ital. ; Uva de Oso, Span. ; Uva de Urso, Port. ; and Uva-ursi in tbe works of most old botanists. 



Engravings. Lin. Fl. Lapp., No. 162. t. 6. f. 3. ; Woodv. Med. Bot, 194. t. 70.; Fl. Dan., t.33. ; 

 Blackw., t. 592. ; Engl. Bot, t. 714. ; Schmidt Baum., t. 138. ; and our fig. 923. 



Spec. Char., Sj-c. Stems procumbent. Leaves permanent, obovate, quite 

 entire, coriaceous, shining. Flowers fasciculate. Drupe 5-celled. Leaves 

 like those of the common box. Flowers pale red, 

 or white with a red mouth, growing in small clusters 

 at the extremities of the branches. (Don's Mi/L, iii. 

 p. 836.) A trailing shrub, a native of North America, 

 in the pine barrens of New Jersey, in mountains and 

 rocky situations of Canada and New England, and ^' 

 in the Island of Unalascha. It is abundant on the 

 continent of Europe; as, for example, in Sweden, 

 Denmark, and most parts of the north ; also in 

 Switzerland, Germany, Carniola, Dauphine, Savoy, ^23 

 Siberia, &c. With us, it is common upon dry, heathy, mountainous, and 

 rocky places, throughout the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland; 

 also in the north of England and Wales; flowering in May and June; 

 and producing red berries, which are ripe in September. The berries 

 are filled with an austere mealy pulp, and serve as food for o-rouse and 

 other birds in Britain ; and, in Sweden, Russia, and America, they form a 

 principal part of the food of bears. The whole plant is powerfully astrin- 

 gent : it abounds in the tannin principle ; and, both in Sweden and America, 

 it has been used for tanning leather, and dyeing it an ash-grey colour. It 

 is also prescribed by rural practitioners in nephritic complaints ; and, on 

 the plains of the Mississippi, it is smoked by the Indians as a febrifuge. In 

 British gardens, it finds a place among other peat-earth plants ; and, though 

 a native of cold and elevated regions, it thrives well in peat, kept moist, in 

 the vicinity of London. 



Jc 2. A. alpfna Spreng. The Alpine Bearberry. 



Identification. Spreng. Syst., 2. p. 287. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 836. 



Synonyme. Arbutus alplna Lin. Sp., 566., (Ed. Fl. Dan., 73., Smith Engl. Bot., t. 2030., Li<ditf. 

 Fl. Scot., 215. 1 11. f. a. b. b v " 



Engravings. Engl. Bot, t 2030. ; Ligntf. Fl. Scot, 215. t. 11. f. a. b. 



Spec. Char.y $c. Stems procumbent. Leaves obovate, acute, wrinkled, ser- 

 rated, deciduous. Racemes terminal. Pedicels rather hairy. The flowers 

 grow in reflexedracemes, and are pure white. The berries are black when 

 ripe, and of the size of a sloe, with a taste somewhat resembling that of black 

 currants, but more mawkish ; insomuch, that Linneeus says the Laplanders 

 will scarcely eat them. Haller, on the contrary, thinks the flavour not 



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