Gaultheria
Credits
Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles
Recommended citation
'Gaultheria' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Family
- Ericaceae
Synonyms
- ×Gaulnettya Marchant
- Pernettya Gaudich.
Species in genus
- Gaultheria adenothrix
- Gaultheria antipoda
- Gaultheria appressa
- Gaultheria borneensis
- Gaultheria codonantha
- Gaultheria colensoi
- Gaultheria crassa
- Gaultheria cuneata
- Gaultheria depressa
- Gaultheria eriophylla
- Gaultheria forrestii
- Gaultheria fragrantissima
- Gaultheria griffithiana
- Gaultheria hirtiflora
- Gaultheria hispida
- Gaultheria hispidula
- Gaultheria hookeri
- Gaultheria humifusa
- Gaultheria insana
- Gaultheria leucocarpa
- Gaultheria macrostigma
- Gaultheria marticorenae
- Gaultheria miqueliana
- Gaultheria mucronata
- Gaultheria myrsinoides
- Gaultheria nummularioides
- Gaultheria oppositifolia
- Gaultheria ovatifolia
- Gaultheria parvula
- Gaultheria procumbens
- Gaultheria pumila
- Gaultheria pyroloides
- Gaultheria rupestris
- Gaultheria semi-infera
- Gaultheria shallon
- Gaultheria sinensis
- Gaultheria stapfiana
- Gaultheria subcorymbosa
- Gaultheria tasmanica
- Gaultheria tetramera
- Gaultheria thymifolia
- Gaultheria trichophylla
- Gaultheria wardii
- Gaultheria × wisleyensis
Editorial Note
Many of the species included here were treated by Bean under the genus Pernettya. Gaultheria and Pernettya have historically been treated as separate genera on the basis of their fruits: in Pernettya, a fleshy berry with a persistent, dry calyx; in Gaultheria, a dry dehiscent capsule with a fleshy calyx. This arrangement was long viewed with suspicion, however, since there was little morphological discontinuity between the two genera, and even the fruit type had proved a not wholly reliable character. On this basis, Middleton and Wilcock (1990) sank Pernettya into Gaultheria (sect. Pernettya), a decision supported by later molecular studies (Powell & Kron 2001).
The text below is adapted from Bean to reflect the updated taxonomic situation. A fuller, revised treatment will be provided when funding is available. If you would like to sponsor the account of this genus please write to editor@treesandshrubsonline.org
A genus of over 200 species of evergreen shrubs, most abundant in the Americas but found also in the Himalaya, S. India, E. and S.E. Asia and Australasia. Leaves usually alternate. Corolla pitcher-shaped or bell-shaped, five-lobed (rarely four-lobed). Calyx five-lobed (the lobes sometimes small and tooth-like). Stamens usually ten. Ovary superior, five-celled, developing into a many-seeded capsule. Seeds very small.
In outward appearance Gaultheria is often very similar to Vaccinium, especially in leaf. There is no easily discernible character to distinguish them in that respect. In flower, however, they are easily distinguished by the relative positions of corolla and ovary. In Vaccinium the calyx and corolla are uppermost, and the remnants of the calyx are usually present on the top of the fruit; in Gaultheria the ovary is uppermost and (with the exception of two or three species from New Zealand) the fruit either becomes enclosed by the calyx-lobes which enlarge upwards and become fleshy or (in sect. Pernettya) the ovary instead of developing into a dry capsule as in Gaultheria, becomes fleshy, the calyx not (usually) enlarging in fruit.
At the beginning of this century only two gaultherias were at all widely cultivated, namely G. shallon and G. procumbens, both North American, and despite the introduction since then of so many East Asiatic species these two remain among the best and hardiest of the genus. Others of equal merit to these for general planting on suitable soils are G. cuneata and G. miqueliana. All are peat- and moisture-loving shrubs and most prefer sheltered positions and some shade. Small-leaved alpine and subalpine species such as G. thibetica and G. sinensis are, however, best grown in fairly light, open positions, provided the soil can be kept permanently moist.
The gaultherias can be propagated by seeds in the same way as rhododendrons, by half-woody cuttings, or in some cases by means of small offsets, which should be grown on in pots or frames before planting out.
The generic name commemorates Dr Gaulthier, an 18th-century botanist and physician of Canada.
The distribution of sexes in wild plants has not been studied in detail. So far as the cultivated ‘pernettya’ are concerned, Dr Stoker found that those with fleshy calyces, namely G. tasmanica, G. macrostigma, G. myrsinoides, and G. insana, bear bisexual flowers and produce fruits even if only one individual is grown, while G. mucronata, G. pumila var. leucocarpa (syn. Pernettya leucocarpa), and G. pumila are functionally dioecious and will not set fruit without a pollinator. But see further under G. mucronata.
From the Supplement (Vol.V)
In the original printing of this edition it was stated that G. crassa, G. hispida and G. oppositifolia were in cultivation at Wakehurst Place, Sussex. This is no longer the case (1985).
