Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Gaultheria procumbens
FAMILY
Ericaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Wintergreen at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Gaultheria procumbens
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Gaultheria procumbens
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Gaultheria procumbens
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-16-001:
Gaultheria procumbens FAMILY Ericaceae
COMMON NAME:
Wintergreen, Teaberry
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_129
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_gapr2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_gapr2_005_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm150424_689
April Blount County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm170414_655
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Tim Spira tpsgprocumbens5
May
The leaves and red berries are natural sources of oil of wintergreen, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm060711_120
July Fayette County WV
Babcock State Park
Solitary, white to pinkish, urn-shaped flowers hang from stalks, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm060711_122
July Fayette County WV
Babcock State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm150912_143
September Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
Leaves crenate to crenate-serrate with deciduous bristle-tipped teeth, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm0310g_28
October Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Stems erect, the leaves 15-50mm long, clustered at the tip of the stem, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
)
Keith Bradley kab_g_procumbens_8691
November Stephens County NY
Adirondack State Park
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Gaultheria procumbens
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Gaultheria procumbens
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Gaultheria procumbens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Gaultheria procumbens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-16-001:
Gaultheria procumbens
FAMILY
Ericaceae
592
Shrub; Subshrub
Perennial
Habitat: Heath balds, woodlands, and openings, usually acidic and xeric, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in NC Mountains, uncommon in NC Piedmont & NC Coastal Plain (rare in GA & SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer
White/Pale pink
5-merous
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed urceolate or slightly campanulate corolla
8-10 included stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Red
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p131
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p108
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p168
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p191
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p232
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p113
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p212
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p123
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p185
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p098
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p376
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p148
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p119
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".