Everything about Gaultheria totally explained
Gaultheria is a genus of about 170-180 species of
shrubs in the family
Ericaceae. The name memorializes M. Hugues Gauthier of Quebec, a mis-spelt honour bestowed by the Scandanavian
Pehr Kalm in 1748. These plants are native to
Asia,
North and
South America, and
Australasia. In the past, the Southern Hemisphere species were often treated in a separate genus
Pernettya; however, there's no consistent reliable morphological or genetic difference to support recognition of two genera, and they're now united in the single genus
Gaultheria.
The species vary from low, ground-hugging shrubs less than 10 cm tall, up to 2.5 m tall, or, in the case of
G. fragrantissima from the
Himalaya, even a small
tree up to 5-6 m tall. The
leaves are
evergreen, alternate (opposite in
G. oppositifolia from
New Zealand), simple, and vary between species from 0.3-10 cm long; the margins are finely serrated or bristly in most species, but entire in some. The
flowers are solitary or in racemes, bell-shaped, with a five-lobed corolla; flower colour ranges from white to pink to red. The
fruit is a fleshy
berry in many species, a dry capsule in some, with numerous small
seeds.
Selected species
- Gaultheria adenothrix
- Gaultheria antarctica
- Gaultheria antipoda
- Gaultheria caudata
- Gaultheria codonantha
- Gaultheria cumingiana
- Gaultheria cuneata
- Gaultheria depressa
- Gaultheria eriophylla
- Gaultheria forrestii
- Gaultheria fragrantissima
- Gaultheria hirtiflora
- Gaultheria hispida
- Gaultheria hispidula
- Gaultheria hookeri
- Gaultheria humifusa
- Gaultheria insana
- Gaultheria itoana
- Gaultheria lanceolata
- Gaultheria lanigera
- Gaultheria macrostigma
- Gaultheria miqueliana
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Gaultheria mucronata
Gaultheria myrsinoides
Gaultheria nummularioides
Gaultheria oppositifolia
Gaultheria ovatifolia
Gaultheria parvula
Gaultheria phillyreifolia
Gaultheria procumbens
Gaultheria pumila
Gaultheria pyroloides
Gaultheria renjifoana
Gaultheria rupestris
Gaultheria semi-infera
Gaultheria shallon
Gaultheria sinensis
Gaultheria stapfiana
Gaultheria tasmanica
Gaultheria tetramera
Gaultheria thymifolia
Gaultheria tricophylla
Gaultheria veitchiana
Gaultheria wardii
Gaultheria yunnanensis
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Uses
Several species are grown as ornamental shrubs in gardens, particularly
G. mucronata from southern
Chile and
G. shallon (
Salal) from the
Pacific Northwest of North America. The fruit of many species is edible, though insipid in flavour so not extensively eaten. However, it's possible to make a strong minty tea from the leaves. There are several recipes available on the internet that involve fermenting the leaves to draw out the wintergreen taste.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Gaultheria'.
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