Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, June 7, 2022
Berries from the previous year, Blue Lake area, 12,350’, June 17, 2022
A. uva-ursi, in fruit, Peekaboo Gulch, 12,000’, August 31, 2022
Common & scientific name
Kinnikinnik, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Family
Heath, Ericaceae
Location
Twin Lakes, 9,200’
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, above Linkins Lake, 12,300’, July 7, 2022