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 | Wintergreen Other Names: Teaberry. Boxberry. Mountain Tea. Checkerberry. Thé du Canada
Botanical Name: Gaultheria procumbens
Family: N.O. Ericaceae |
Description: |
| A small indigenous shrubby, creeping, evergreen plant, growing about 5 to 6 inches high under trees and shrubs, particularly under evergreens such as Kalmias and Rhododendrons. It is found in large patches on sandy and barren plains, also on mountainous tracts. The stiff branches bear at their summit tufts of leaves which are petiolate, oval, shiny, coriaceous, the upper side bright green, paler underneath. The drooping white flowers are produced singly from the base of the leaves in June and July, followed by fleshy, bright red berries (with a sweetish taste and peculiar flavour), formed by the enlargement of the calyx. The leaves were formerly official in the United States Pharmacopoeia, but now only the oil obtained from them is official, though in some parts the whole plant is used. The odour is peculiar and aromatic, and the taste of the whole plant astringent, the leaves being particularly so. |
Habitat: |
| Northern United States from Georgia to Newfoundland; Canada. |
Constituents: |
The volatile oil obtained by distillation and to which all the medicinal qualities are due, contains 99 per cent Methyl Salicylate: other properties are 0.3 of a hydrocarbon, Gaultherilene, and an aldehyde or ketone, a secondary alcohol and an ester. To the alcohol and ester are due the characteristic odour of the oil. The oil does not occur crudely in the plant, but as a nonodorous glucoside, and before distillation, the leaves have to be steeped for twelve to twenty-four hours for the oil to develop by fermentation - a reaction between water and a neutral principle: Gaultherin.
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Medicinal Usage: |
| Tonic, stimulant, astringent, aromatic. Useful as a diuretic and emmenagogue and for chronic mucous discharges. Is said to be a good galactogogue. The oil of Gaultheria is its most important product. It has all the properties of the salicylates and therefore is most beneficial in acute rheumatism, but must be given internally in capsules, owing to its pungency, death from inflammation of the stomach having been known to result from frequent and large doses of it. It is readily absorbed by the skin, but is liable to give rise to an eruption, so it is advisable to use for external application the synthetic oil of Wintergreen, Methyl Salicylate, or oil from the bark of Betula lenta, which is almost identical with oil of Gaultheria. In this form, it is a very valuable external application for rheumatic affections in all chronic forms of joint and muscular troubles, lumbago, sciatica, etc. The leaves have found use as a substitute for tea and as a flavouring for genuine tea. The berries form a winter food for animals, partridges, deer, etc. They have been used, steeped in brandy, to produce a bitter tonic taken in small quantities. The oil is a flavouring agent for tooth powders, liquid dentifrices, pastes, etc., especially if combined with menthol and eucalyptus. |
Ancient Lore: |
WINTERGREEN
PYROLA MINOR
A good vulnerary both for inward and outward wounds.
A perennial with a creeping root. The leaves resemble those of a Pear tree, although not so large. It grows to about ten inches (25 cm) and produces a spike of white flowers.
Where to find it: Woods, moors, rock ledges and dunes.
Flowering time: Early to late summer.
Astrology: A lunar plant.
Medicinal virtues: The leaves are the only part used. They are cooling and drying and a good vulnerary. They are used for inward and outward wounds and haemorrhages, ulcers in the kidneys or bladder, and to prevent making bloody water and an excess of the catamenia.
Modern uses: The Common Wintergreen is now a rare plant and, therefore, not available for rnedicinal use. It should not be confused with Gaultheria procumbens, from which Oil of Wintergreen is produced. Another variety, the Large Wintergreen (Pyrola rotundifolia), which resembles Lily of the Valley, is also rare, but pockets of abundance are sometimes found in fenland and boggy soils throughout Europe, Asia and North America. An infusion of the dried leaves is a good remedy for cystitis as it flushes the urinary tract and purifies it. The plant contains a natural antiseptic. The dose is 1 fl oz (30 ml), three times a day. |
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