Flora of North America species comparison

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Gaultheria shallon

Gaultheria hispidula

salal, shallal

cancer wintergreen, creeping spicy-wintergreen, creeping-snowberry
Habit Shrubs, creeping, not mat-forming, rhizomatous. Subshrubs (vinelike), creeping, mat-forming, stoloniferous; roots adventitious or fibrous.
Stems

erect to partially erect, (greenish), 50–200+ cm, ± glandular-hairy, glabrescent.

repent, 10–14 cm, densely strigose.
Leaf

blades oval to ovate or orbiculate to reniform, 4–8+ cm, base rounded or cordate, margins serrulate (teeth fimbriate apically), apex mucronate/apiculate or aristate, surfaces glabrous.

blades elliptic to oval, 0.3–1 cm, base cuneate to rounded, margins ciliate, (slightly revolute), apex acute, abaxial surface strigose, adaxial glabrous.
Inflorescences

axillary, drooping, secund racemes;

peduncle deep pink to red, 7–15+ cm, densely glandular-hairy;

bracts white to light pink, deltate, 4–6 mm, not exceeding sepals, glandular-hairy marginally.

axillary, solitary flowers;

bracts light green, broadly lanceolate, 1.5–2 mm, exceeding sepals, sparsely strigose.
Pedicels

white, 7–10 mm, densely glandular-hairy;

bracteoles 1–5, pinkish white, parallel-veined, oblanceolate, 3–5 mm, densely glandular-hairy.

light green, 1.5–3 mm, strigose;

bracteoles absent.
Flowers

sepals 5, distinct nearly to base, dark pink to red, narrowly deltate, 3.5–5 mm, glandular-hairy (hairs reddish);

petals 5, connate nearly their entire lengths, white to light pink, 7–8 mm, densely glandular-hairy, corolla narrowly urceolate, lobes 1 mm;

filaments widest proximally, glabrous, papillose;

anthers with 2 apical, bifurcating awns, dehiscent by subterminal pores proximal to awns.

sepals 4, connate ca. 1/2 their lengths, white, ovate, 1–1.5 mm, hairy basally (hairs dark red);

petals 4, connate 1/3 their lengths, white, 2–3.5 mm, glabrous, corolla campanulate, lobes 1.5–2 mm;

filaments broadest in middle and narrowing distally and proximally, glabrous;

anthers with 2 bifurcating awns, dehiscent by subterminal pores.
Fruits

black-purple, 6–8 mm wide.

white, 2.5–6 mm wide.
2n

= 22, 44.

= 22.

Gaultheria shallon

Gaultheria hispidula
Phenology Flowering May-early Jul; fruiting late Jul–Sep. Flowering Jun-early Aug; fruiting Jul–Sep.
Habitat Woods and transition zones, moist soils, rocky or sandy cliffs, coastal bluffs Sphagnum bogs, fens and mossy, coniferous woodland forests and swamps, often on moss-covered or rotting logs
Elevation 0-1300 m (0-4300 ft) 30-1400 m (100-4600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; OR; WA; BC [Introduced in nw Europe]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CT; ID; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; VT; WA; WI; WV; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Fruits of Gaultheria shallon are a food source for animals, and the evergreen leaves provide additional food throughout the winter. This species has been used as a vegetative cover in disturbed areas because it spreads aggressively. The fresh and dried or smoked fruits were an important food of native peoples throughout its range. The evergreen leaves are used commercially in floral arrangements.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 514. FNA vol. 8, p. 513.
Parent taxa Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Gaultheria Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Gaultheria
Sibling taxa
G. hispidula, G. humifusa, G. ovatifolia, G. procumbens, G. pyroloides
G. humifusa, G. ovatifolia, G. procumbens, G. pyroloides, G. shallon
Synonyms Vaccinium hispidulum, Chiogenes hispidula
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 283, plate 12. (1813) (Linnaeus) Muhlenberg ex Bigelow: Fl. Boston. ed. 2, 165. 1824 ,
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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