XKinnickinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)X
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Kinnickinnick -or- Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), family Ericaceae (Heath)
A widespread plant, as useful as it is plentiful. The cheery pink-tipped white flowers are delightful, continuing to offer their charm as bright red berries form later in season. The uses by Native Americans of this perennial shrub are almost too numerous to mention. In addition to usefulness to humans the plants provide forage for birds, deer, sheep, and bears. Also it is one of the first plants to grow on burned or disturbed areas. Colorado Flora Eastern Slope mentions a common subspecies to the area, sbsp. adenotricha, and our specimen could be such. The flowers are hermaphrodite, having both male and female organs, and can self-fertilize. They are also pollinated by bees. Their versatility does not end there. The plants can grow in little to full sun as well as poor to acid rich soil.
USES:
According to the website Montana Plant Life are the following edible uses of Bearberry: fruit is edible, raw or cooked. Native Americans fried or dried the berries for edible use. The Okanogan-Colville cooked the berries with venison or salmon, dried them into cakes and ate the cakes with salmon eggs. While the berries themselves are not tasty, they are used in jellies, jams and sauces. The berry is also useful as an emergency food if there is nothing else available to eat. OTHER USES: In Russia and Sweden, they use the leaves for tanning leather, because of the high tannin produced. The mashed berries can be rubbed on the insides of coiled cedar root baskets in order to waterproof them.
Wikipedia mentions: Bearberry is the main component in many traditional North American Native smoking mixes, known collectively as "kinnikinnick" (Algonquin for a mixture). Bearberry is used especially amongst western First Nations, often including other herbs and sometimes tobacco. Some historical reports indicate a "narcotic" or stimulant effect, but since it is almost always smoked with other herbs, including tobacco, it is not clear what psychotropic effects may be due to it alone.
Please see the excellent information on Bearberry at Plants For A Future, including this warning: Best not used by pregnant women since it can reduce the supply of blood to the foetus. Large doses may lead to nausea and vomiting due to tannin content. Overdoes may result in tinnitus, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, convulsions and collapse. That said, there are many medicinal uses of Bearberry: Antiseptic; Astringent; Birthing aid; Diuretic; Hypnotic; Kidney; Lithontripic; Poultice; Skin; Tonic; Women's complaints. OTHER USES: Beads; Dye; Pioneer; Soil stabilization; Tannin; Waterproofing.
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Plant location: Found on Flagstaff Road in the foothills above Boulder Colorado - March 22, 2015.
Per the website Catalogue of Life is this distribution of Bearberry:
Alaska, USA (Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington State, Wisconsin, Wyoming). Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, Labrador, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Northern Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Isl., Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon), Greenland, St. Pierre et Miquelon, bania, Austria, England, Bulgaria, former Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain, Iceland, Italy, former Yugoslavia, Norway, Poland, Romania, N-European Russia, Baltic States, C-European Russia, W-European Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Sweden, W-Siberia, C-Siberia, Russian Far East.Plant -
Bloom season: March through June, in Colorado. Found from foothills to subalpine habitats. USDA zones: 4-8.Foliage -
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