UW Burke Herbarium species comparison

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Gaultheria shallon

Gaultheria humifusa

salal

alpine wintergreen
Habit Erect or spreading evergreen shrub to 2 m tall; stems 50-200 cm, younger twigs glandular, older stems becoming glabrous. Low, depressed shrub up to 3 cm. tall, the stems trailing, up to 10 cm. long, glabrous or finely puberulent.
Leaves

Leaves leathery and glabrous, alternate, elliptic to ovate, 5-9 cm long and 3-5 cm broad, finely toothed.

Leaves evergreen, leathery, shiny, alternate, broadly ovate to elliptic, 1-2 cm. long and 0.5-1.5 cm. broad, rounded, entire.
Flowers

Inflorescence racemose, 5-15 flowers, 5-17 cm long, glandular, white to pinkish bracts;

calyx deeply 5-lobed, white to red, reddish-glandular, sepals 3-5 mm;

corolla 5-lobed, urn-shaped, white to pinkish, glandular, 7-10 mm;

anthers awned, dehiscing by subterminal pores.

Flowers single in the leaf axils on short, bracteate pedicels;

calyx deeply 5-lobed, glabrous, 3-4 mm. long;

corolla slightly longer than the calyx, united, bell-shaped, 5-lobed, pinkish;

stamens 10, anthers opening by terminal pores, without awns.
Fruits

Capsule berry-like, surrounded by persistent calyx, globose, fleshy, bluish-black, 6-10 mm in diameter.

Capsule berry-like, surrounded by the persistent, pulpy calyx, 5-7 mm. broad, reddish.

Gaultheria shallon

Gaultheria humifusa
Flowering time May-July July-August
Habitat Forest understory and edge marine headlands, from sea level to moderate elevation in the mountains. Subalpine to alpine areas, usually where moist to wet.
Distribution
Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest In Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains from Alberta to Colorado.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Origin Native Native
Conservation status Not of concern Not of concern
Sibling taxa
G. hispidula, G. humifusa, G. ovatifolia
G. hispidula, G. ovatifolia, G. shallon
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the University of Washington's Burke Herbarium.



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