Seems a good time for a (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

Thanks to all the photographers for sharing and thanks Marlin for the recent IDs. Pearly everlasting eh? It sounds so ubiquitous and if I ever see one in real life anytime soon, I may even remember what it is. I've never noticed it before.

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Bearberry is a groundcover shrub (woody), a sprawler like a creeping juniper(J. hortizonalis). I usually observe it in and adjacent to rock outcroppings.

Wintergreen like bearberry is a deciduous evergreen woody perennial(shrub), with a similar shaped leaves but the wintergreen's is larger and in fewer numbers. Wintergreen is also stoloniferous, think underground strawberry runners, bearberry on the other hand is not- it is a creeper rerooting as it goes about its business. They both have light pinkish bell shaped flowers, from my recollection. Wintergreen's berries are larger than bearberry but both are red. They are woody shrubs (woody perennials) even though they are ground hugging in stature.

The fragrance of the foliage is probably one of the easiest ways to discern the difference...

The wintergreen that I have observed has been mostly growing in acid duff that is well drained, moist, and with good snowcover in the dead of winter and some filtered shade in summer...actually most of what I have observed for colonies have been found on a south easterly slope in combination with pine (jack and red) and then in WI (on sand with oak and white pine).

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Hope this helps...and kale is a well traveling substitute for the L; where's the T anyway?

What?  No lettuce?  You weren't the party we encountered at the BH/Quetico portage about 4 years ago with the huge plastic container of white bread were you?  Pascanell and I paddled away thinking that those guys must really like sandwiches.   

I myself am beginning to regret sending it on, too.



-- kypaddler

And note that Dave (whose hand is holding the smallie sandwich) didn't cover the whole bread. He was being considerate, because that was his second or third, and the rest of us weren't finished with our first, yet.

YA KNOW????? there are just some pics that just arn't rite
That looks good I am sitting here hungry and you put up a pic like that...

Thanks kypaddler and dd.

I know wintergreen and have seen bear berry.  I know wintergreen is good to eat and the bear berry looks good enough to eat.  Normally we see tons of wintergreen on our trips, but this year not a one.  Great photo!

starwatcher

kypaddler wrote on Nov 9^th, 2010 at 2:24pm:

So, how does one differentiate between wintergreen and bearberry.

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Wintergreen
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Bearberry

I understand that Wintergreen is more of a ground cover plant, while Bearberry is more of a shrub, but I've seen pictures of Bearberry that look very much like a ground cover.  And based on the sample photos, it appears to me that the POD is Bearberry (leaf tip rounded) rather than Wintergreen (more pointed leaf tip).  Other than smelling the leaves, can anyone clear this up?

But, I guess the good news is ... both berries are edible and the leaves of both can be used to make a tea.

dd

"I don't know," he said, feeling ignorant and embarrassed.

(Basically I took a zillion photos of plants and trees, and I resolved to come back and research them. Haven't been able to, yet.)

The key word is "yet."

I still intend to.

In the meantime, surely someone out there is a botanist, professional or otherwise?

That flower was on Fauquier, btw.

What is this plant?
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Thank you for the compliment, Starwatcher.

And "wintergreen" was my guess on the berries, also, but I don't know enough to say with certainty. I've been meaning to do a little research, but you know how that goes. I bow to anyone on the forum with superior knowledge. Anyone?

The most recent trip (mid- to late-September) seems like it happened two years ago. (Appreciate db posting the photos to bring it all back.)

-- kypaddler