Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Source: www.nwplants.com

Botanical Name: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Common Name: Kinnikinnick; Bearberry
Family: Ericaceae
Type of Plant: Evergreen groundcover
Habit: Mat-forming with trailing branches.
Growth Rate: Slow
10-Year Height: < 1'
Mature Height: 6-12"
Leaves: Alternate, simple, obovate-oblong, displayed evenly on stem, lustrous dark green above, lighter below, margins have a fringe of minute hairs (ciliate).
Flowers: Perfect, white-tinged pink, urn-shaped, in terminal nodding racemes. April-May
Fruit: Fleshy fruit (drupe), bright red. Doesn't always fruit.
Buds/New Growth: 
Stem/Bark: Exfoliating bark on older stems.
Culture: Sun or partial shade. Does best in poor, sandy, infertile, acid soils. There are reports that it grows well on limestone rock. Good salt tolerance.
Pruning: 
Pests/Diseases: 
Landscape Uses: Groundcover. Rockeries. Steep banks. Street median plantings (and other neglected areas).
Additional Information: Often find them on mountaintops. uva-ursi: bear's grape (uva, grape; ursi, bear, in the family Ursidae). "Kinnikinnik" is thought to be an Algonquian term meaning "smoke mixture." The dried leaves were smoked by a number of Native American groups living along the Pacific Ocean over the past two centuries, but there is little evidence of these groups smoking it prior to their contact with Europeans (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994). The berries are still used medicinally to treat bladder and kidney disorders.
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