Wikijunior:Summer Flowers of Northern New England/Gaultheria procumbens

 
 
Wintergreen
(Gaultheria procumbens)
Ripe berries
Bell-shaped flowers
Description:
Wintergreen is an evergreen plant that stays close to the ground. It grows in shady forests. The white, bell-shaped flowers appear in early July. They hang below the leaves. As with many broad-leaf evergreens, the leaves are dark green and leathery. They have smooth edges.

Quick Facts:
Wintergreen is used as a flavoring. The berries and leaves are edible and have a refreshing, minty taste. The berries stay on the plant until new flowers appear, meaning they are on the plant almost year-round. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about collecting wintergreen berries by digging them out of the snow in the early spring.
The berries swell as they get older.
Last modified on 7 July 2010, at 18:40