Ericaceae FAMILY

Gaultheria humifusa

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Gaultheria humifusa is an evergreen perennial plant with stems that become more or less woody and persist. A creeping, mat-forming plant with stoloniferous roots, the slender stems can be 10 - 20cm tall[ 11 Title Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Publication Author Bean. W. Publisher Murray Year 1981 ISBN - Description A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures. , 270 Title Flora of N. America Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental in gardens, where it can be used as a ground cover.

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeWestern N. America - British Colombia to Alberta, south to California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado.

HabitatConiferous woodlands and in moist soils along stream banks, subalpine to alpine wet meadows, rocky mountain slopes; at elevations from 900 - 3,700 metres[ 270 Title Flora of N. America Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses. ]. Moist alpine and sub-alpine slopes[ 60 Title Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Publication Author Hitchcock. C. L. Publisher University of Washington Press Year 1955 ISBN - Description A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader. ].