Wintergreen

Wintergreen

Gaultheria procumbens L.

Ericaceae

Wintergreen plants in bloom, growing out of reindeer moss (Cladonia spp.). Photo credit: J. Dolan 2018

Names and Their Meanings

Wintergreen - Gaultheria procumbens L.

Kanienʼkéha

Teyun’rahdasta:te, kanenrahtà:tens “thick leaves”

Anishinaabemowin

Wiinsibak, Wiinisiibag, Wiinisiibagad, wini’sibugons’, wini'sibagons (singular), - ak (plural), wiinisiibag/ oon, owiinisiimin/an

French

Thé des bois, Gaulthérie couchée, Thé rouge

Wintergreen berries and leaves persist throughout the winter, and are available as a food and medicine during times when access to food and medicine may at times be scarce. Photo credit: J. Dolan 2017

Wintergreen plant. Photo credit: Y.Z. Ni 2022

Wintergreen is a companion of conifers, growing in coniferous and mixed forests, this one growing at the base of White Pine (Pinus strobus). Photo credit: J. Dolan 2023

Wintergreen plants in bloom, growing out of reindeer moss (Cladonia spp.). Photo credit: J. Dolan 2018

Description

Wintergreen are and have been used for food, beverage and medicine by Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe people for centuries. Frances Densmore noted among Anishinaabe that the aromatic and astringent leaves were used in food, and as a beverage, by tying them in a bag made of basswood bark, and boiling them with approximately a quart of water to a handful, and drunk with or without maple sugar. Scott Herron wrote that wintergreen contains methyl salicylate (caution when using!), and as such has been used among Anishinaabe for fevers, headaches, rheumatism, aches and pains.

Conservation Status

S5 (Secure) in Ontario