Herb. No. 171 · Ericaceae
Eastern North American woodland heath — acid shade from Canada to the South.
Native · North America
Native Also grown
LegalCautionplant
Wintergreen
Gaultheria procumbens
A low eastern woodland evergreen that tastes of toothpaste — a salicylate leaf, and an oil that is a poison-control regular.
Wintergreen is a North American heath-family creeper. Traditional use of the leaf is as a small tea and a flavor. The oil is nearly pure methyl salicylate — aspirin in a bottle, lethal in teaspoons, especially to children and dogs. This plate is a weak leaf tea or a labeled topical. Never sip the oil.
Flavor
Sweet birch, toothpaste, a little mint that is not mint. One leaf perfumes a cup.
Parts used
Leaf (tea, small) · Berry (nibble, not a staple)
Helpful
- A native woodland groundcover
- A real flavor
Cautions
- Oil is toxic swallowed
- Aspirin-sensitive people
- Not a children’s candy oil