Gaultheria procumbens

Low bill berry ( Gaultheria procumbens )

The Low bill berry ( Gaultheria procumbens ), also called wintergreen, is a species of the genus appearances berries ( Gaultheria ) in the family Ericaceae ( Ericaceae ).

Features

The Low bill berry is an evergreen dwarf shrub, forming underground runners and reaches stature heights up to 15 inches. The leaves have no spike tip and the front are more or less rounded, verkehrteiförmig to elliptic, slightly cut at the edge and often too few bunched at the top of the stem. They measure 20 to 50 × 10 to 30 millimeters. The flowers are hermaphroditic, individually and leaf axils. The crown is white (to pink ), pitcher -shaped and 5 to 10 millimeters long. The fruits are similar to beer, red and have a diameter of 8 to 15 millimeters.

Bloom time is from July to August.

Distribution and location

The Low bill berry is found in forests in eastern North America. Their range extends north to the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, south to the U.S. states of Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.

The soil should be acidic to slightly acidic and rich in humus, the location or partial shade with adequate moisture sunny. The Low bill berry is absolutely hardy and tolerates both root pressure and competition from larger trees. However, it is kalkfliehend and sensitive to longer dry periods.

Use

The Low bill berry is rarely used as a ground cover, fruit ornamental ornamental plant in peat beds. In North America it is used as a tea plant use, the fruits were processed into cakes. It is a flavoring ingredient in root beer (leaves and fruits). The species is in cultivation since at least 1762.

From the leaves of the so-called Wintergreen Oil may be recovered. By maceration in warm water the Monotropitosid contained is converted into methyl salicylate and subsequently isolated by steam distillation. The yield is about 0.5 % to 0.8% with a Salicylsäuremethylesteranteil of over 98%. In addition, the oil contains further components (alpha -pinene, myrcene, delta - 3-carene, limonene, 3,7- Guaiadien, delta - cadinene ) in small amounts.

The aroma of this oil is used widely in North America: chewing gum, candies, other foods, toothpaste and mouthwash aseptic, for example, often offered in that flavor, though now often artificial methyl salicylate is used.

Even the American Indians used the Low bill berry medicine, eg for the treatment of back pain, rheumatism, fever and headache. Even today, the Wintergreen Oil is applied as an analgesic, astringent and blood circulation, as it has a large chemical proximity to aspirin ( acetylsalicylic acid). By Overdose - a milliliter of oil equivalent of up to 1.8 grams of aspirin - there has already been several times to death.