Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Gaultheria shallon

Gaultheria procumbens

salal, shallal

American wintergreen, boxberry, checkerberry, eastern spicy-wintergreen, eastern teaberry, wintergreen
Habit Shrubs, creeping, not mat-forming, rhizomatous. Subshrubs, creeping, not mat-forming, rhizomatous or stoloniferous; adventitious roots absent.
Stems

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

decumbent, branches ascending, 5–20 cm, lanate, glabrescent.
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 (pale green abaxially, bright green, glaucous adaxially), obovate to oval or orbiculate, 1.5–4.5 cm, base cuneate to rounded, margins serrate (teeth bristle-tipped), (slightly revolute), apex acute to rounded or obtuse, rarely mucronate, surfaces sparsely hairy (hairs unbranched).
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 or with 2–3 nodding flowers per node;

bracts reddish, cordate, distinctly concave, 1–2 mm, not exceeding sepals, ciliate marginally.
Pedicels

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

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

pinkish, 1–3 mm, lanate;

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 5, connate 1/2 to nearly their entire lengths, white, cordate, 2.5–3.5 mm, ciliate marginally;

petals 5, connate nearly their entire lengths, white, 8–10 mm, adaxial surface lanate-hairy, corolla urceolate, lobes 1 mm;

filaments (pinkish), slightly widened proximally, lanate-tomentose;

anthers with 2 apical awns (awns not bifurcating), dehiscent by subterminal pores proximal to awns.
Fruits

black-purple, 6–8 mm wide.

bright red to reddish violet, 6–9 mm wide.
2n

= 22, 44.

= 44, 88.

Gaultheria shallon

Gaultheria procumbens
Phenology Flowering May-early Jul; fruiting late Jul–Sep. Flowering Jun–Sep; fruiting Sep–Jan.
Habitat Woods and transition zones, moist soils, rocky or sandy cliffs, coastal bluffs Mixed woodlands, mesic forests, dry, acidic woodlands, powerline rights-of-way, roadbanks, old pastures, coniferous woodlands, maritime heathlands, montane heath balds, bogs and fens, usually in acidic and/or sandy soils
Elevation 0-1300 m (0-4300 ft) 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; OR; WA; BC [Introduced in nw Europe]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; CT; DC; DE; GA; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC
[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.)

Although common or abundant in most of its range, Gaultheria procumbens has been listed as endangered in Illinois.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 514. FNA vol. 8, p. 514.
Parent taxa Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Gaultheria Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Gaultheria
Sibling taxa
G. hispidula, G. humifusa, G. ovatifolia, G. procumbens, G. pyroloides
G. hispidula, G. humifusa, G. ovatifolia, G. pyroloides, G. shallon
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 283, plate 12. (1813) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 395. 1753 ,
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).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers