At Tree Talk Natives, we’re always on the lookout for native evergreens, and here are two: both groundcovers but with distinct differences.
First, the similarities:
Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) and Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) are both:
Ground huggers
Shade lovers
Evergreen, and
Producers of whitish spring blooms and edible red berries
Tough choice? Here are some differences:
Partridgeberry is very much a trailing vine, growing along the top of the forest floor. It does not climb, and it is not aggressive, occasionally rooting at leaf nodules.
Over time, Partridgeberry will form a dense mat even in heavy shade, although it appreciates morning sun.
Its leaves are bright green, even on the coldest winter days. They’re about a half-inch, oval or heart-shaped, and they have a white stripe down the center.
In summer, it’s hard to miss the plant’s striking white blooms, flushed pink and dancing on top of the leaves. The petals are covered in tiny white hairs, giving the blooms a fuzzy look.
Interestingly, the flowers come in pairs connected at the base. If each flower gets pollinated, the pair forms a single, red berry, which looks bloated and has a scar from each flower, giving the impression of wide-set eyes.
According to lore, some communities would present the flowers of Partridgeberry to newlyweds as a symbol of their union.
Note: Partridgeberry grows so low to the ground–no more than two inches– this is one example of where fallen leaves should be raked to give the plants air.
If you’re creating a food forest, you might be more interested in Wintergreen because the berries, and leaves, are quite tasty. The wintergreen flavoring originally was used in gum, candy and toothpaste.
Also called Eastern Teaberry, Wintergreen is classified more as a shrub, or sub-shrub up to six inches tall. Rather than twining along the top of the ground, it spreads via underground rhizomes, or stems.
And while both plants excel at providing color all year, there is more red in Wintergreen.
New spring and summer leaves emerge red, then change to a bluish green and then a deep green in summer.
As the weather turns colder, those leaves revert once again to a purplish red and stay that way all winter. The leaves also have a waxy look, and they are significantly larger, 1½ to 2 inches.
The berries, initially green, mature to red in fall and hang on through winter. The flowers, white and bell-shaped, droop underneath the foliage.
Although Wintergreen will grow in full shade, best flowering and fruiting generally is in dappled to part shade.
A third evergreen, Mayflower (Epigaea repens), also growing just 4 to 6 inches, reportedly was the first flower the Pilgrims witnessed after their first winter in the New World.
Those delicate flowers are a light pink and appear in clusters atop grayish-green, leathery leaves. They’re sweetly fragrant but can be hard to spot under the leaves; indeed, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center advises, “sniffing for it on hands and knees.”
Mayflower is getting honorable mention because it can be difficult to get established in the garden. Mayflower grows best in part shade and rich, medium soil, and it does not like to be disturbed once planted.
Sources:
Condon, T. and Nancy Condon. Partridge Berry. Two Naturalists.
Epigaea repens, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Kennedy, M. Wintergreen and Partridgeberry, Wild Edibles.
Cullina, W. Growing and Propagating Wildflowers. New England Wild Flower Society. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 2000. Pp 108-109; 148-149.
Mertins, B. “Discover the Partridgeberry, an Edible Berry of Eastern Forests.” NatureMentor.
Partridgeberry. Capital Naturalist.
Partridgeberry. Northeastern native plant digest.
Partridgeberry. Wildflowers of the Adirondacks. Adirondacks Forever Wild.
Whitmeyer, A. “Wintergreen.” Identify that Plant.
Wintergreen. Wildflowers of the Adirondacks. Adirondacks Forever wild.
Comments