Contents
What is a bearberry plant?
Bearberry characteristics (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
Common noun: Bearberry, kinnikinnick, wildcranberry, mealberry, hog cranberry, red bearberry
– Spanish: Gayuba, uva de oso.
Scientific noun: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng.
– Synonyms: Arctostaphylos adenotricha (Fernald & J.F. Macbr.) A. Löve & D. Löve & Kapoor = Arbutus uva-ursi L.
Family: Heather family – Ericaceae
Habitat: In sparse woods and mountain heaths.
Description of bearberry
Perennial bush of the heather family – Ericaceae -, till 2m long.
Woody, brownish stems, creeping with many sprouts prolonging along the ground; younger ones erect.
Ovate leaves, till 2 cm long, bright green above, darker below, coriaceous, wider at the apex.
Flowers till 6 mm, in hanging racemes at the end of short red stalks; white rosy.
The fruit is a drupe, red in maturity, about 8 mm wide.
Components of bearberry
- Glycosides: arbutin, metilarbutin, ericolin, ericinol
- Flavonoids
- Acids: malic, gallic, ursolic
- Quercitine
- Tannins
More information on bearberry
