Native American Names:

Related Species: Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), Western Teaberry (Gaultheria ovatifolia), Prickly Heath (Gaultheria mucronata), Snowberry (Gaultheria hispida), Creeping Snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula)

Sitting With:
                                    Spreading anonymously like a lullaby
                                    A little arrogant, sometimes…

Body System Affiliations:
                                                1. Digestive
                                                2. Respiratory

                                                3. Urinary
                                                4. First-Aid

                                                5. Nutritional
                                                6. Pediatrics

Botanical Description:
            Habit: Perennial Shrub
            Size: 6-7 ft. tall in shady thicket, 1 ft. on roadsides
            Arrangement: Alternate
            Leaves: oblong to elliptical ovate, acuminate, very finely and sharply toothed,
                           evergreen, thick, leathery, 1-4 inches long
            Flowers: urn-shaped, pink, clusters of 5-15 at top and sides, “typical of Heath
                            family (1)”
            Fruit: flowers mature in late summer into purple-black berries, edible, high in 
                        flavonoids, bland taste, a little spicy, PLENTIFUL
            Bark: mealy stems
            Twigs: zigzag in new stem growth, red when mature, brown
            Underground Parts: “Sprouts profusely from rhizomes (6).”
            Personal Observation and Description:
            I find the leaves to be most interesting. They are pubescent, and very smooth
            like a countertop, they seem to curve and curl at the margin because of their
            stiffness. The margin is ever so slightly toothed, almost serrulate-ulate, the tip
            being perfectly acuminate. At the base, the leaf is round, sometimes oblique, and 
            what I think is the node (where the leaf attaches to the branch), is a pleasant
            lemonade yellow with a vibrant magenta blotch. The plentiful berries have died
            off for the winter, but new buds are already forming (mid-November).

Ecology:
            Habitat: moist forest understory- mostly Evergreen and coniferous forests,
                            coastal mountain areas, also grows on roadsides
            Range:  Western North America, Santa Cruz, CA to Alaskan Panhandle,
                           East to Cascades in Washington, stops in Southern Central OR
            Native: in Pacific Northwest only (Northern CA to AK, all through BC)
            Ecological Relationships: Salal is usually found growing abundantly under
                          Douglas-fir, Western Hemlock, and Sitka Spruce. Common associates
                          include salmonberry, vine maple, western sword fern, and California
                          hazel.
            Personal Observation: Salal is an abundant plant in the Pacific Northwest, which
                         seems to take up, and comprise much of the forest floor. It seems that  
                         Salal prefers to grow around the base of large trees, basking in their shade     

                         and spreading outward. I have begun to recognize Salal as the “green that
                         exists under the trees” around the Pacific Northwest, especially around
                         the Olympic peninsula area. I have not noticed much of a variation in
                         plant size or shape within this area.

Westhttp://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/wilderness/wildflowers/salal.htm [1]. Interactive Broadcasting Corporation, 1996-2006.

6.) www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/gshallon.htm [2]. Seiler, John R., et al. Virginia Forestry Department, 2005-2006.
 

7.) http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/index.html [3]. USDA Forest Service. 2006.

8.) Turner, Nancy J. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples. Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 1971.

9.) Alaback, Paul et al.

Meghan McNealy – Healing Gardens – Fall 2006