Gaultheria
Gaultheria is a genus of about 135 species of shrubs in the family Ericaceae.[1] The name commemorates Jean François Gaultier of Quebec, an honour bestowed by the Scandinavian Pehr Kalm in 1748 and taken up by Carl Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum.[2] These plants are native to Asia, Australasia and North and South America. In the past, the Southern Hemisphere species were often treated as the separate genus Pernettya, but no consistent reliable morphological or genetic differences support recognition of two genera, and they are now united in the single genus Gaultheria.
| Gaultheria | |
|---|---|
_Leaf_and_Flowers.jpg) | |
| Gaultheria shallon | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Subfamily: | Vaccinioideae |
| Tribe: | Gaultherieae |
| Genus: | Gaultheria Kalm ex L. |
| Type species | |
| Gaultheria procumbens L. | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
|
Chiogenes Salisbury | |
Description
The species vary from low, ground-hugging shrubs less than 10 cm (3.9 in) tall, up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) tall, or, in the case of G. fragrantissima from the Himalayas, even a small tree up to 5–6 m (16–20 ft) tall. The leaves are evergreen, alternate (opposite in G. oppositifolia from New Zealand), simple, and vary between species from 3 to 10 cm (1.2 to 3.9 in) long; the margins are finely serrated or bristly in most species, but entire in some. The flowers are solitary or in racemes, bell-shaped, with a five-lobed (rarely four-lobed) corolla;[1] flower colour ranges from white to pink to red. The fruit is a fleshy berry in many species, a dry capsule in some, with numerous small seeds.
Uses
Several species are grown as ornamental shrubs in gardens, particularly G. mucronata (Pernettya mucronata) from southern Chile and Argentina and G. shallon (salal) from the Pacific Northwest of North America. Many of the smaller species are suitable for rock gardens. Like most other ericaceous plants, Gaultheria species do best in peaty soil that never fully dries out.
The fruit of many Gaultheria species is edible, particularly that of salal, which can be used to make jelly. One, the American wintergreen or eastern teaberry, G. procumbens, is the traditional source of wintergreen flavouring; it is called the eastern teaberry because its leaves can be used to make a tea, and its berries can be eaten as are. The fruit of most other Gaultheria species is insipid in flavour and not extensively consumed.
One variety of G. leucocarpa shows anti-inflammatory properties and is used in Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, swelling, and pain.[3]
Species
As of March 2015, The Plant List recognises 141 species, including hybrids:[4]
- Gaultheria abbreviata J.J.Sm.
- Gaultheria acroleia Sleumer
- Gaultheria acuminata Schltdl. & Cham.
- Gaultheria adenothrix (Miq.) Maxim.
- Gaultheria akaensis S.Panda & Sanjappa
- Gaultheria alnifolia (Dunal) A.C.Sm.
- Gaultheria amoena A.C.Sm.
- Gaultheria anastomosans (Mutis ex L.f.) Kunth
- Gaultheria angustifolia Brandegee
- Gaultheria antarctica Hook.f.
- Gaultheria antipoda G.Forst. - snowberry or fools beech
- Gaultheria appressa A.W.Hill - waxberry or white waxberry
- Gaultheria arfakana Sleumer
- Gaultheria atjehensis J.J.Sm.
- Gaultheria barbulata Sleumer
- Gaultheria berberidifolia Sleumer
- Gaultheria borneensis Stapf
- Gaultheria bracteata (Cav.) G.Don
- Gaultheria bradeana Sleumer
- Gaultheria brevistipes (C.Y.Wu & T.Z.Hsu) R.C.Fang
- Gaultheria bryoides P.W.Fritsch & L.H.Zhou
- Gaultheria buxifolia Willd.
- Gaultheria caespitosa Poepp. & Endl.
- Gaultheria cardiosepala Hand.-Mazz.
- Gaultheria celebica J.J.Sm.
- Gaultheria chiriquensis Camp
- Gaultheria codonantha Airy Shaw
- Gaultheria colensoi Hook.f.
- Gaultheria crassa Allan
- Gaultheria cuneata (Rehder & E.H.Wilson) Bean
- Gaultheria depressa Hook.f. - mountain snow berry or alpine wax berry
- Gaultheria dialypetala Sleumer
- Gaultheria dolichopoda Airy Shaw
- Gaultheria domingensis Urb.
- Gaultheria dumicola W.W.Sm.
- Gaultheria elegans (Phil.) Reiche
- Gaultheria erecta Vent.
- Gaultheria eriophylla (Pers.) Mart. ex Sleumer
- Gaultheria × fagifolia Hook.f.
- Gaultheria foliolosa Benth.
- Gaultheria fragrantissima Wall.
- Gaultheria glaucifolia Hemsl.
- Gaultheria glomerata (Cav.) Sleumer
- Gaultheria gracilescens Sleumer
- Gaultheria gracilis Small
- Gaultheria griffithiana Wight
- Gaultheria hapalotricha A.C.Sm.
- Gaultheria heteromera R.C.Fang
- Gaultheria hirta Ridl.
- Gaultheria hispida R.Br. - snow berry
- Gaultheria hispidula (L.) Muhl. ex Bigelow - creeping snowberry or moxie-plum
- Gaultheria hookeri C.B.Clarke
- Gaultheria howellii (Sleumer) D.J.Middleton
- Gaultheria humifusa (Graham) Rydb. - alpine wintergreen or alpine spicy wintergreen
- Gaultheria hypochlora Airy Shaw
- Gaultheria insana (Molina) D.J.Middleton
- Gaultheria insipida Benth. - chichaja
- Gaultheria × intermedia J.J.Sm.
- Gaultheria itatiaiae Wawra
- Gaultheria itoana Hayata
- Gaultheria japonica (A.Gray) Sleumer
- Gaultheria jingdongensis R.C.Fang
- Gaultheria × jordanensis Brade & Sleum.
- Gaultheria kemiriensis Sleumer
- Gaultheria lanceolata Hook.f.
- Gaultheria lanigera Hook.
- Gaultheria leschenaultii DC.
- Gaultheria leucocarpa Blume
- Gaultheria lohitiensis S.Panda & Sanjappa
- Gaultheria longibracteolata R.C.Fang
- Gaultheria longiracemosa Y.C.Yang
- Gaultheria losirensis Sleumer
- Gaultheria macrostigma (Colenso) D.J.Middleton
- Gaultheria malayana Airy Shaw
- Gaultheria marginata (N.E.Br.) D.J.Middleton
- Gaultheria megalodonta A.C.Sm.
- Gaultheria minuta Merr.
- Gaultheria mucronata (L.f.) Hook. & Arn. - prickly heath or chaura
- Gaultheria mundula F.Muell.
- Gaultheria myrsinoides Kunth
- Gaultheria myrtilloides Cham. & Schltdl.
- Gaultheria notabilis J.Anthony
- Gaultheria novaguineensis J.J.Sm.
- Gaultheria nubicola D.J.Middleton
- Gaultheria nubigena (Phil.) B.L.Burtt & Sleum.
- Gaultheria nummularioides D.Don
- Gaultheria oppositifolia Hook.f. - kama, niniwa or snowberry
- Gaultheria oreogena A.C.Sm.
- Gaultheria ovatifolia A.Gray - western teaberry or Oregon spicy wintergreen
- Gaultheria paniculata B.L.Burtt & A.W.Hill
- Gaultheria parvula D.J.Middleton
- Gaultheria pernettyoides Sleumer
- Gaultheria phillyreifolia (Pers.) Sleumer
- Gaultheria poeppigii DC.
- Gaultheria praticola C.Y.Wu
- Gaultheria procumbens L. - eastern teaberry, checkerberry, boxberry, or American wintergreen
- Gaultheria prostrata W.W.Sm.
- Gaultheria pseudonotabilis H.Li ex R.C.Fang
- Gaultheria pullei J.J.Sm.
- Gaultheria pumila (L.f.) D.J.Middleton
- Gaultheria purpurascens Kunth
- Gaultheria purpurea R.C.Fang
- Gaultheria pyrolifolia Hook.f. ex C.B.Clarke
- Gaultheria pyroloides Hook.f. & Thomson ex Miq.
- Gaultheria racemulosa (DC.) D.J.Middleton
- Gaultheria rengifoana Phil.
- Gaultheria reticulata Kunth
- Gaultheria rigida Kunth
- Gaultheria rupestris (L.f.) R.Br.
- Gaultheria salicifolia Phil.
- Gaultheria santanderensis A.C.Sm.
- Gaultheria schultesii Camp
- Gaultheria sclerophylla Cuatrec.
- Gaultheria semi-infera (C.B.Clarke) Airy Shaw
- Gaultheria serrata (Vell.) Kin.-Gouv. ex Luteyn
- Gaultheria × serrulata Herzog
- Gaultheria seshagiriana Subba Rao & Kumari
- Gaultheria setulosa N.E.Br.
- Gaultheria shallon Pursh - salal, shallon, or gaultheria
- Gaultheria sinensis J.Anthony
- Gaultheria sleumeri Smitinand & P.H.Hô
- Gaultheria sleumeriana Kin.-Gouv.
- Gaultheria solitaria Sleumer
- Gaultheria stereophylla A.C.Sm.
- Gaultheria steyermarkii Luteyn
- Gaultheria straminea R.C.Fang
- Gaultheria strigosa Benth.
- Gaultheria subcorymbosa Colenso
- Gaultheria suborbicularis W.W.Sm.
- Gaultheria taiwaniana S.S.Ying
- Gaultheria tasmanica (Hook.f.) D.J.Middleton
- Gaultheria tenuifolia (Phil.) Sleumer
- Gaultheria tetramera W.W.Sm.
- Gaultheria thymifolia Stapf ex Airy Shaw
- Gaultheria tomentosa Kunth
- Gaultheria trichophylla Royle - Himalayan snowberry
- Gaultheria trigonoclada R.C.Fang
- Gaultheria ulei Sleumer
- Gaultheria vaccinioides Griseb. ex Wedd.
- Gaultheria vernalis Kunze ex DC.
- Gaultheria viridiflora Sleumer
- Gaultheria wardii C.Marquand & Airy-Shaw
References
- Fang Ruizheng; Peter F. Stevens (2005). "Gaultheria Kalm ex Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 395. 1753; 白珠树属 bai zhu shu shu". In Wu Zhengyi; Peter H. Raven; D. Y. Hong (eds.). Apiaceae through Ericaceae. Flora of China. 14. Beijing and St. Louis: Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. ISBN 9781930723412.
- Boivin, Bernard (1979–2016). "Gaultier, Jean-François". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- Dan Zhang; Rui Liu; Lan Sun; Chao Huang; Chao Wang; Dong-Ming Zhang; Tian-Tai Zhang; Guan-Hua Du (2011). "Anti-inflammatory activity of methyl salicylate glycosides isolated from Gaultheria yunnanensis (Franch.) Rehder". Molecules. 16 (5): 3875–3884. doi:10.3390/molecules16053875. PMC 6263312. PMID 21555977.
- "Gaultheria". The Plant List. Retrieved March 11, 2015.