Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, June 17, 2021
Common & scientific name
Kinnikinnik, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Family
Heath, Ericaceae
Location
Above Linkins Lake, 12300’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Kinnikinnik, or Bearberry (see its scientific name), is a ground-hugging, evergreen shrub with thick, leathery, paddle-shaped leaves that are yellow-green in the spring, dark-green in the summer, and reddish-purple in the fall. Its tiny, bell-shaped, pink-tipped, white flowers nod in clusters from red stems. Bright-red berries succeed the flowers and persist into winter. This wonderful alpine ground cover is equally at home at sea level back east.
A. uva-ursi, in fruit, Wet Gulch 12,000’, August 18, 2021