American Wintergreen or Partridgeberry? ... That is The Question©

 

 

Is this plant a Wintergreen or, is it a Partridgeberry?  Photograph by the Author.

When I first took this picture, I thought I might have found an American Wintergreen plant, but as I looked at pictures of wintergreen plants, I became less and less certain.  In fact, I began to think that I had found a Partridgeberry plant.

 

Do you know the difference between an American Wintergreen (gaultheria procumbens) and a Partridgeberry (mitchella repens)?  I didn’t at first, but here is what I found.

 

A flowering American Wintergreen, from Applied and Economic Botany, by Henry Kraemer, page 650, HERE.

American Wintergreen

 

The native range of the American Wintergreen, gaultheria procumbens, from United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services.

American Wintergreen, which is called wintergreen because of its evergreen leaves, has many names, such as Boxberry, Checkerberry, Teaberry, Deerberry, Ground Holly, Ground Tea, and others.  Wintergreen is a shrub, and it grows from slender creeping stems to form patches or colonies of plants.  The branches that grow from these underground stems are about two to six inches (5 to 15 cm) tall.  These plants bear leaves that are generally grouped around the tips of the branches. 

 

An American Wintergreen, photographed in Algonquin Provincial Park, by the Author.  Note the simple dark green leaf, with a single main vein and fine saw-teeth along the edges of the leaves.

The shiny, dark green leaves of the American Wintergreen, which when crushed or bruised, smell strongly of mint¹, are between one to two (2.5 to 5 cm) long and are oval or elliptical.  Being an evergreen, American Wintergreen keeps its leaves throughout the winter, although sometimes they turn from dark green to a reddish color as the winter turns cold.  The leaves of the American Wintergreen are simple, as opposed to a compound leaf with multiple parts², and the leaves sprout alternately from the stem.  Wintergreen leaves have just one main vein, with smaller veins branching off from it.  The edges of the leaves have fine saw-teeth, each with a needle like spine on the tip of the saw-tooth.

 

From Wikimedia, “Gaultheria_procumbens_2-eheep”, Albert Herring, Superior National Forest National Forest, 15 September 2003, HERE.

American Wintergreen, if they are growing in the northern regions of their range, such as in the Adirondack Mountains, begin to bud during early July and their small white flowers appear in late July and August.  In more southern areas of their range, they will begin to bud in late June, with their flowers appearing in early July.  The flowers of the American Wintergreen are white and waxy and hang beneath the leaves on small stalks.  The flowers are small, only ¼ to ½ of an inch (7 to 13 mm) long and are bell shaped, with five white petals that are fused at the base and curl back at the tips.

 

From Wikimedia, “Gaultheria_procumbens_4_(5097300875)”, Albert Herring, Superior National Forest National Forest, 15 September 2003, HERE.

The flowers of the American Wintergreen become small light green berries during late August and early September, in the northern part of its range.  These berries have a notched pucker mark on their underside and as the berries ripen, they turn a bright red, usually by October.  These bright red berries are about a ¼ inch (7 mm) in diameter and have a strong flavor of wintergreen.  The berries often remain throughout the winter and can be found as the snow melts.

 

Partridgeberry

 

The native range of the American Wintergreen, mitchella repens, from United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services.

Partridgeberry is also called Twinberry, Deer Berry and Squaw Berry.  Like the American Wintergreen, it is a creeping evergreen shrub that grows along the forest floor, with stems that are about two inches (5 cm) high, and frequently forms colonies or patches of the plants.  Both the American Wintergreen and the Partridgeberry have bright green leaves grouped at the tips of the branches, produce white flowers in the summer and red berries during the fall, and the berries often remain with the leaves throughout the winter, hidden under the snow.  However, where they differ is in the shape of the flowers and the shape and aroma of the leaves.

 

A Partridgeberry plant, photograph by the Author.

The bright, shiny, and dark green leaves of the Partridgeberry look like squashed ovals and are about ½ an inch (13 mm) across, with a single large green-yellow main vein with smaller veins branching from it.  The leaves of the Partridgeberry, like the American Wintergreen, are simple, without multiple or compound parts, however, unlike the American Wintergreen, the leaves of the Partridgeberry are opposite, meaning that they sprout from the branch in pairs, not alternately from the stem.  The leaves of the Partridgeberry are smooth and do not have saw-teeth or spines and when bruised or crushed, the leaves do not give off a minty smell.

 

From Wikimedia, “750px-Mitchella_repens”, by Partridge Pea, taken in the Appalachians; Smokies; CabinCove, on September 1, 2007, HERE.

Partridgeberry, in the northern regions of their range, such as the Adirondack Mountains, flower during late June and early July and produce furry, white, and tiny flowers that are about ½ inch (13 mm) long with four petals and come in pairs, appearing above the leaves.  Both twin flowers must be fertilized to produce a single berry, which is about ¼ to ½ an inch (7 to 13 mm) wide and because of this the berry has two “eyes” on it.  The fruit of the Partridgeberry turns from green to a bright red by fall.

 

From Wikimedia, “Mitchella_repens_William_Penn_State_Forest”, by Nicholas A. Tonelli, in State Forest, Berks County, Pennsylvania, on March 25, 2012, HERE.

So, to wrap it all up, what I found was a Partridgeberry plant and not an American Wintergreen.  The main differences between the two plants leaves are shown below.

 

There are three excellent articles which I recommend if you are interested in more information on American Wintergreen and Partridgeberry plants, “Wildflowers of the Adirondacks: Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)”, HERE; “Wildflowers of the Adirondacks: Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens)”, HERE and “THE EDIBLE OUTDOORS # 19 - WINTERGREEN - plus a bonus - THE PARTRIDGEBERRY”, HERE.

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “The Common Snowdrop...the First to Bloom in Spring©”, where I will talk about about one of the first flowers to bloom each spring..

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at Bandanaman Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Notes

 

¹ The characteristic smell of American Wintergreen comes from the compound methyl salicylate, which is a similar chemical to that which is found in aspirin, and people who are sensitive to aspirin should not consume the leaves of American Wintergreen.  Additionally, too much methyl salicylate is toxic.

 

²

Drawing by the Author.

 

Sources

 

Kraemer, Henry; Applied and Economic Botany, [John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1916], page 650, https://archive.org/details/appliedeconomic00krae/page/650/mode/1up?view=theater, accessed March 23, 2021

 

Papa-pepper, “THE EDIBLE OUTDOORS # 19 - WINTERGREEN - plus a bonus - THE PARTRIDGEBERRY”, [Steemit.com], https://steemit.com/food/@papa-pepper/the-edible-outdoors-19-wintergreen-plus-a-bonus-the-partridgeberry, accessed March 27, 2021

 

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services, “Gaultheria procumbens L. eastern teaberry”, https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=GAPR2, accessed March 25, 2021

 

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services, “Mitchella repens L. partridgeberry”, https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=MIRE, accessed March 25, 2021

 

Wikimedia, “Gaultheria_procumbens_2-eheep”, [Albert Herring, Superior National Forest National Forest, 15 September 2003], https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaultheria_procumbens_2-eheep_(5097886118).jpg, accessed March 23, 2021

 

Wikimedia, “Gaultheria_procumbens_4_(5097300875)”, [Albert Herring, Superior National Forest National Forest, 15 September 2003], https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaultheria_procumbens_4_(5097300875).jpg, accessed March 23, 2021

 

Wikimedia, “750px-Mitchella_repens” [Partridge Pea, Appalachians, Smokies, CabinCove, September 1, 2007], https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mitchella_repens.jpg, accessed March 25, 2021

 

Wikimedia, “Mitchella_repens_William_Penn_State_Forest”, [Nicholas A. Tonelli, State Forest, Berks County, Pennsylvania, March 25, 2012], https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mitchella_repens_William_Penn_State_Forest.jpg, accessed March 25, 2021

 

Wild Adirondacks, “Wildflowers of the Adirondacks: Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)”, [© 2021 Wild Adirondacks], https://wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-wildflowers-wintergreen-gaultheria-procumbens.html, accessed March 23, 2021

 

Wild Adirondacks, “Wildflowers of the Adirondacks: Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens)”, [© 2021 Wild Adirondacks], https://wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-wildflowers-partridgeberry-mitchella-repens.html, accessed March 24, 2021