Gaultheria hispidula

(L.) Muhl. ex Bigelow.

Creeping Snowberry, Moxie-plum

Ericaceae Edible: Fruit, Leaves - tea 9,468 iNaturalist observations

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

Summary

Gaultheria hispidula, commonly known as the creeping snowberry or moxie-plum, and known to Mi'kmaq tribes of Newfoundland as manna teaberry, is a perennial spreading ground-level vine of the heath family Ericaceae. It is native to North America and produces small white edible berries. It fruits from August to September. Its leaves and berries taste and smell like wintergreen. The species epithet hispidula refers to the bristles on the stems and leaves.

Description

A small creeping plant. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 10-30 cm long. The leaves are alternate and simple. They are oval and dark green above and pale underneath. Underneath it is dotted with brown hairs. The leaves are about 5 mm long and are rolled under at the edges. The flowers are small and white. They are about 2 mm long. They occur singly in the axils of the leaves. They are cup shaped. The fruit is a white mealy berry. They are up to 1 cm across. The fruit are edible.

Edible Uses

The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked. It is pleasantly acid and refreshing with a delicate wintergreen flavour and an agreeable sub-acid taste similar to G. shallon. The fruit makes delicious preserves and is about 6mm in diameter. The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked and are also used to brew a tea with a mild wintergreen flavour, said to be superior to China tea.

Traditional Uses

The fresh leaves are used for tea. They can also be eaten fresh or cooked. The juicy berries can be eaten raw or cooked. They can be used for preserves but need pectin for jam. Caution: Oil of wintergreen can be toxic and should not be eaten in large amounts.

Medicinal Uses

The plant is said to remove the cancerous taint from the body. An infusion of the leaves has been used as a tonic for someone who has overeaten.

Distribution

It is a cool temperate plant. It grows in evergreen mossy woods. It grows on bogs and logs. It can grow in fairly wet soils. It suits hardiness zone 3.

Where It Grows

Asia, Canada, Japan, North America, USA,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seeds.

Propagation

Seed requires cold stratification — pre-chill for 4–10 weeks, then surface sow in lime-free compost in a shady part of the greenhouse, keeping the compost moist. Germination usually occurs within 1–2 months at 20°C, but seedlings are prone to damping off. Water carefully, ensure good ventilation, and consider watering with a garlic infusion to reduce damping off. Prick out seedlings into individual pots at about 25mm tall and grow on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least the first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer. Protect from spring frosts for the first few years outdoors, as seedlings are susceptible. Leaves remain very small for the first few years. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 3–6cm long, taken July/August in a shaded frame; roots form in late summer or spring, with a good success rate. Divide in spring just before new growth begins — larger clumps can go straight to permanent positions, though smaller clumps are best potted up in a cold frame until rooting well, then planted out in spring. Layering is also possible.

Other Uses

A fast-growing ground cover plant well suited to shady positions.

Production

It is relatively fast growing.

Other Information

Fruit are sold in local markets.

Notes

There are about 170 Gaultheria species. It contains salicylic acid.

Synonyms

Arbutus filiformis Lam.Arbutus thymifolia AitonChiogenes hispidula (L.) Torr. & A. GrayChiogenes serpyllifolia Salisb.Gaultheria serpyllifolia PurshVaccinium hispidulum L.and others

Also Known As

Birchberry

References (16)

Beckstrom-Sternberg, Stephen M., and James A. Duke. "The Foodplant Database." http://probe.nalusda.gov:8300/cgi-bin/browse/foodplantdb.(ACEDB version 4.0 - data version July 1994) (As Chiogenes hispidula)
Cat. pl. Amer. sept. 44. 1813
Cormack, R. G. H., 1967, Wild Flowers of Alberta. Commercial Printers Edmonton, Canada. p 246
Esperanca, M. J., 1988. Surviving in the wild. A glance at the wild plants and their uses. Vol. 1. p 293 (As Chiogenes hispidula)
Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 95

Show all 16 references

Fisk, J. R. & Hoover, E., 2015, Wild Fruits of Minnesota. A Filed Guide. University of Minnesota p 13
Glowinski, L., 1999, The Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia. Lothian. p 181 (As Chiogenes hispidula)
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 186 (As Gaultheria serpyllifolia)
Jackes, D. A., Edible Forest Gardens
Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 383
Lyle, S., 2006, Discovering fruit and nuts. Land Links. p 220
MacKinnon, A., et al, 2009, Edible & Medicinal Plants of Canada. Lone Pine. p 118
Moerman, D. F., 2010, Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. p 241
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
Saunders, C.F., 1948, Edible and Useful Wild Plants. Dover. New York. p 166 (As Chiogenes hispidula)
Turner, N., 1997, Food Plants of Interior First Peoples. Royal BC Museum Handbook p 113