Bearberry

Did you know

• Also called 'kinnikinnick' (an Algonquin word meaning 'mixture'), bearberry leaves were the most important traditional smoking herb of Indigenous peoples across the boreal forests of North America.
• The plant produces tiny urn-shaped pink flowers that look exactly like miniature lily-of-the-valley bells—they appear in May and ripen into bright red berries that bears (and grouse) love.
• Bearberry is one of only a handful of plants that has been used as a urinary antiseptic since the 13th century—the leaves contain arbutin, a proven antibacterial compound, and are still in some natural medicine cabinets today.
• The plant grows in extreme conditions—from arctic tundra to sand dunes to high mountain ridges—and forms dense mats that anchor sandy soils against erosion.
• Bearberry holds the cold record for ericaceae: it tolerates temperatures down to –50°F and has been recorded growing on the edges of Greenland glaciers.

Color meanings

Uses

• Ground cover
• Erosion control
• Native plant gardens
• Herbal medicine