Gaultheria shallon Pursh

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Gaultheria shallon' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/gaultheria/gaultheria-shallon/). Accessed 2024-03-28.

Common Names

  • Salal
  • Shallon

Glossary

corolla
The inner whorl of the perianth. Composed of free or united petals often showy.
apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
axil
Angle between the upper side of a leaf and the stem.
berry
Fleshy indehiscent fruit with seed(s) immersed in pulp.
bract
Reduced leaf often subtending flower or inflorescence.
calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
corolla
The inner whorl of the perianth. Composed of free or united petals often showy.
glandular
Bearing glands.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.
viscid
Sticky.

References

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Gaultheria shallon' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/gaultheria/gaultheria-shallon/). Accessed 2024-03-28.

An evergreen shrub 2 to 6 ft high, forming a dense thicket of stems, and spreading by means of underground stems; young branches reddish and bristly, becoming rough with age. Leaves leathery, broadly ovate, the base rounded or heart-shaped, the apex always sharply pointed, evenly and finely bristle-toothed, 112 to 4 in. long, 34 to 212 in. wide; stalk reddish, hairy, 12 to 14 in. long. Flowers produced during May and June in viscid, glandular racemes 112 to 5 in. long, at the end of the previous year’s shoots, and in the axils of several terminal leaves; each flower produced from the axil of a hooded, ovate bract, 14 in. long. Corolla pinkish white, egg-shaped, downy, 38 in. long, five-toothed at the mouth; calyx white, its lobes triangular, downy, pressed to the corolla. Fruit a juicy, top-shaped hairy berry, dark purple, 38 in. wide, carrying many tiny seeds, and pleasantly flavoured; the bracts adhere at the base. Bot. Mag., t. 2843.

Native of western N. America; introduced by Douglas in 1826. This useful and handsome shrub is one of the best we have for forming a dense evergreen thicket in moist, shady spots. It can be propagated by seeds, which it ripens in great numbers, also by division of the old plants, but to do the latter with success it is necessary to plant the pieces in a few inches of sandy soil on a hot­bed. Broken up and planted in the open ground the pieces take long to recover. It may be recommended as cover for game.