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WINTERGREEN

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Originally appearing in Volume V28, Page 735 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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WINTERGREEN , known botanically as Gaultheria procumbens, a member of the See also:

heath See also:family (See also:Ericaceae), is a small creeping, See also:evergreen See also:shrub with numerous See also:short erect branches bearing in the upper See also:part shortly-stalked See also:oval, thick, smooth shining leaves with See also:sharp-toothed edge. The See also:flowers are See also:borne singly in the See also:leaf axels and are pendulous, with a See also:pale See also:pink waxy-looking See also:urn-shaped corolla. The See also:bright See also:crimson-red sub-globular, See also:berry-like See also:fruit consists of the much-enlarged fleshy calyx which surrounds the small thin-walled many-seeded See also:capsule. The plant is a native of shady See also:woods on sandy See also:soil, especially in mountainous districts, in See also:southern See also:Canada and the See also:northern See also:United States; it is quite See also:hardy in See also:England. The leaves are sharply astringent and have a See also:peculiar aromatic See also:smell and See also:taste due to a volatile oil known as oil of See also:winter See also:green, used in See also:medicine in the treatment of See also:muscular See also:rheumatism (for the therapeutic See also:action see SALICYLIC See also:ACID). An infusion of the leaves is used, under the name See also:mountain or See also:Salvador See also:tea, in some parts of See also:North See also:America as a substitute for tea; and the fruits are eaten under the name of See also:partridge or See also:deer berries. Other names for the plant are tea-berry, checker-berry, See also:box-berry, See also:jersey tea, spice-berry and ground See also:holly. See See also:Bentley and Trimen, Medicinal See also:Plants, t. 164. WINTER'S BARK, the bark of Drimys Winteri, an evergreen See also:tree belonging to the See also:Magnolia family. It was formerly See also:officinal in See also:Europe, and is still held in esteem in See also:Brazil and other partsof See also:South America as a popular remedy for See also:scurvy and other diseases. The plant is a native of the mountains and See also:highlands from See also:Mexico to the Straits of See also:Magellan.

End of Article: WINTERGREEN

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