Creeping wintergreen is a native of northeastern North America, and as far south as
Alabama.
Identification: Creeping wintergreen is a low, spreading
plant, typically 4-6″ (10-15 cm) tall, sometimes as low as 1″ (2.5 cm). Leaves are oval,
evergreen, dark in color, ¾-1¾″ (2-5 cm) long and ⅜-¾″ (1-2 cm) across. When broken,
the leaves smell of wintergreen. Flowers are about ¼″ (6.3 mm) long, white, urn-shaped,
resembling blueberry flowers. Fruits are bright red, ¼-½″ (6.3-12 mm) in diameter, and
hard (like an apple). See also the similar-appearing but unrelated partridgeberry (Mitchella repens).
Low, spreading plant, typically 4-6″ (10-15 cm) tall, sometimes as low as 1″ (2.5 cm).
Low-lying vine is rarely more than 2″ (5 cm) in height and up to 1′ (30 cm) long.
Flowers
Flowers are about ¼″ (6.3 mm) long, white, urn-shaped, resembling blueberry flowers.
Tubular, with four sharp-tipped petals, white or slightly pink, ½-¾″ (1.3-1.9 cm) long and ⅜″ (9.5 mm) in diameter. They appear from May to July.
Leaves
Oval, evergreen, dark in color, ¾-1¾″ (2-5 cm) long and ⅜-¾″ (1-2 cm) across. When broken, the leaves smell of wintergreen.
Opposite and oval or heart-shaped, about ½″ (1.3 cm) long, with a prominent light green central vein. Each leaf is dark and shiny on top, pale and yellowish below.
Fruit
Fruits are bright red, round, ¼-½″ (6.3-12 mm) in diameter, and hard (like an apple).
One red, misshapen berry ¼-½″ (6.3-12 mm) in diameter—actually two fused berries—grows for each pair of flowers.
Range/ Zones
Type
Wild
Wild
Edibility: Berries are edible, but bland, tasting only faintly
of wintergreen. To prepare a tea, sterilize a jar by boiling it, as you would for preparing jams and
jellies. Pack it with wintergreen leaves, fill with sterile water, and store the sealed jar in a warm
spot for several days. The water will become bubbly with fermentation, which releases the
wintergreen flavor. Heat the fermented beverage and dilute it to taste. This tea is the derivation
of the name "teaberry," which also served as the name for Teaberry Gum.