View source for Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

{{Short description|Species of fruit and plant}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Arctostaphylos uva-ursi 25924.JPG
| image_caption = 
| status = G5
| status_system = TNC
| status_ref = <ref name=natureserve>{{Cite web
  | publisher = NatureServe
  | title = ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi''
  | work = NatureServe Explorer
  | url = http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=arctostaphylos+uva-ursi
  | access-date = 2018-07-18}}</ref>|
| genus = Arctostaphylos
| species = uva-ursi
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[Spreng.]]
}}

'''''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi''''' is a plant species of the genus ''[[Arctostaphylos]]'' widely distributed across [[Circumboreal Region|circumboreal regions]] of the [[subarctic]] [[Northern Hemisphere]].<ref name="ubc">{{cite web |date=2018 |title=''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' (L.) Spreng; E-Flora: Electronic atlas of the flora of British Columbia; In: Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) |url=http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Arctostaphylos%20uva-ursi |access-date=2019-08-27 |publisher=E-Flora BC, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia Herbarium}}</ref> '''Kinnikinnick''' ([[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] for "smoking mixture") is a common name in Canada and the United States.<ref name=ubc/><ref name="alberta">{{cite web |date=2019 |title=Common bearberry |url=http://plantwatch.naturealberta.ca/choose-your-plants/common-bearberry-information/ |access-date=2019-08-27 |publisher=Alberta Plant Watch, Government of Alberta}}</ref><ref name="usda">{{cite web |date=31 January 2002 |title=Plant fact sheet: Bearberry (''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'') |url=http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_aruv.pdf |publisher=USDA NRCS Northeast Plant Materials Program}}</ref> Growing up to {{Convert|30|cm|abbr=off|frac=2}} in height, the [[leaves]] are [[evergreen]]. The flowers are white to pink and the [[fruit]] is a red [[berry (botany)|berry]].

One of several related species referred to as '''[[bearberry]]''',<ref name="ubc" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Casebeer |first=M. |date=2004 |title=Discover California Shrubs |location=Sonora, California |publisher=Hooker Press |isbn=0-9665463-1-8}}</ref> its [[specific epithet]] ''uva-ursi'' means "grape of the bear" in Latin ({{lang|la|{{wt|la|ūva}} {{wt|la|ursus|ursī}}}}), similar to the meaning of the [[generic epithet]] ''Arctostaphylos'' ([[Greek language|Greek]] for "bear grapes").

==Description==
''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' is a small procumbent woody [[groundcover]] shrub growing to {{Convert|5-30|cm|abbr=off|frac=2}} high.<ref name="mbg">{{cite web |title=''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi''; 'Massachusetts' |url=https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=j380 |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden |access-date=27 August 2019 |date=2019}}</ref>
Wild stands of the species can be dense, with heights rarely taller than {{Convert|6|in|cm|abbr=on|order=flip}}. Erect branching twigs emerge from long flexible prostrate stems, which are produced by single roots. The trailing stems will layer, sending out small roots periodically. The finely textured velvety branches are initially white to pale green, becoming smooth and red-brown with maturity.<ref name="ubc" /> The small solitary three-scaled buds are dark brown.

The [[leaves]] are shiny, small, and feel thick and stiff,<ref name="mbg" /> measuring about {{Convert|4|cm|abbr=on|frac=2}} long and {{Convert|1|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} wide.<ref name=":0" /> Their tops are darker green than their undersides.<ref name="EXC">{{cite book |last1=Clapham |first1=Arthur |title=Excursion Flora of the British Isles |last2=Tutin |first2=Thomas |last3=Warburg |first3=Frederic |date=1989 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=0521232902 |edition=Third |page=231}}</ref> They have rounded tips tapering back to the base, held vertically by a twisted leaf stalk in an alternate arrangement on the stem.<ref name="EXC" /> The leaves remain green for 1–3 years before falling in autumn, when their colour changes to a reddish-green or purple, pale on the underside.<ref name="mbg" />

Terminal clusters of small urn-shaped flowers bloom from May to June. The flowers are white to pink,<ref name="EXC" /> and bear round, fleshy or mealy, bright red to pink fruits called [[drupe]]s.<ref name=ubc/> The smooth, glossy skinned fruits range from {{convert|1/4|to|1/2|inch|mm|0|abbr=out}} in diameter. The red fruits<ref name="ubc" /> persist on the plant into early winter. The fruits are bittersweet when raw, but sweeter when boiled and dried. Each drupe contains 1 to 5 hard seeds, which need to be [[scarified (botany)|scarified]] and [[stratified (botany)|stratified]] prior to [[germination]] to reduce the seed coat and break embryo dormancy. There is an average of 40,900 cleaned seeds per pound.<ref name=usda/>

{{gallery|mode=packed
|Arctostaphylos uva-ursi - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-013.jpg|Illustration from ''[[Köhler's Medicinal Plants]]'' (1887)
|Baerentraube ML0002.jpg|Flowers
|Bearberry Flower.jpg|Flowers
|Common bearberry ("Kinnikinnick", Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) - fruits and leaves.JPG|''A. uva-ursi'' subsp. ''uva-ursi'' fruit
}}

===Chemistry===
The plant contains diverse [[phytochemical]]s, including [[ursolic acid]], [[tannic acid]], [[gallic acid]], some [[essential oil]]s and [[resin]], [[hydroquinone]]s (mainly [[arbutin]], up to 17%), [[tannin]]s (up to 15%), [[Glycoside#Simple phenolic glycosides|phenolic glycoside]]s and [[flavonoid]]s.<ref name="Pegg">{{cite journal |authors=Pegg, Ronald B.; Rybarczyk, Anna and Amarowicz, Ryszard |year=2008 |title=Chromatographic separation of tannin fractions from a bearberry leaf (''Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi'' L. Sprengel) extract by Se-HPLC |journal=Polish Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences |volume=58 |issue=4 |pages=485–490 |doi=10.17221/234/2008-cjfs |doi-access=free |s2cid=37247418}}</ref>

== Subspecies ==
There are some 14 [[subspecies]],<ref name="usdarange">{{cite web |date=2019 |title=Plants profile for ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' (kinnikinnick) |url=https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ARUV |access-date=2019-08-27 |publisher=USDA Plants}}</ref> including:
* ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' subsp. ''uva-ursi''. '''Common bearberry'''; circumpolar arctic and subarctic, and in mountains further south.
* ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' subsp. ''adenotricha''. Central high [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]].
* ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' subsp. ''coactilis''. North coastal California, central coast California, [[San Francisco Bay Area]].
* ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' subsp. ''cratericola'' {{small|(J. D. Smith) P. V. Wells}}. '''Guatemala bearberry''', [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to [[Guatemala]] at very high altitudes ({{Convert|3000–4000|m|abbr=on|disp=or}}). 
* ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' subsp. ''longifoliosa''. Various reports from Canada, U.S.A.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://nhm2.uio.no/paf/741001 |title=Pan-arctic Flora |editor-last=Elven |editor-first=Reidar}}</ref> May be the same as ''adenotricha'' or ''coactilis''.

For a list of reported North American subspecies and [[varietal]]s, see ''USDA Plants Profile''.<ref name="usdarange" />

== Etymology ==
The [[genus]] name of ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' comes from the Greek words ''arctos'' (meaning [[bear]]) and ''staphyle'' (meaning "bunch of grapes") in reference to the fruits which form grape-like clusters.<ref name="ubc" /><ref name="alberta" /><ref name="mbg" /> In the wild, the fruits are commonly eaten by bears.<ref name="mbg" /> The [[specific epithet]], ''uva-ursi'', comes from the Latin words ''uva'' (meaning grape) and ''ursus'' (bear), reflected by the ''bearberry'' nickname.<ref name="mbg" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Wells |first=Philip V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jC5FAQAAIAAJ |title=The Manzanitas of California |publisher=University of Kansas |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-933994-22-5 |location=Lawrence, KS |page=13 |quote=The name ''Arctostaphylos'' is from Greek: ''{{transl|grc|arctos}}'' = bear, ''{{transl|grc|staphylos}}'' = bunch of grapes or berries; hence bearberry, pertaining redundantly to ''A. uva-ursi'' (Latin: ''{{lang|la|uva}}'' = berry, ''{{lang|la|ursi}}'' = of the bear).}}</ref>

The common name, ''kinnikinnick'', is an [[Algonquian languages|Algonquin]] word meaning "smoking mixture".<ref name="alberta" /><ref name="mbg" /> Native Americans and early pioneers smoked the dried ''uva-ursi'' leaves and bark alone or mixed with other herbs, [[tobacco]] or dried [[dogwood]] bark in pipes.<ref name="mbg" /> Numerous common names exist, depending on region, such as mealberry, sandberry, mountain-box, fox-plum, hog-crawberry, and barren myrtle.<ref name="alberta" />

== Distribution and habitat ==
The distribution of ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' is circumpolar, and it is widespread in northern latitudes,<ref name="ubc" /><ref name="usdarange" /><ref name="usda" /> but confined to high altitudes further south: 
* in Europe, from [[Iceland]] and [[North Cape, Norway]] south to southern [[Spain]] ([[Sierra Nevada (Spain)|Sierra Nevada]]); central [[Italy]] ([[Apennine Mountains|Apennines]]) and northern [[Greece]] ([[Pindus]] mountains);
* in Asia from arctic [[Siberia]] south to [[Turkey]], the [[Caucasus]], the [[Levant]] and the [[Himalaya]];
* in North America from arctic Alaska, Canada and [[Greenland]], south to [[California]], north coast, central High [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] (above [[Convict Lake]], [[Mono County|Mono County, California]]), [[Central Coast of California|Central Coast, California]], [[San Francisco Bay Area]], to [[New Mexico]] in the [[Rocky Mountains]]; and the [[Appalachian Mountains]] in the northeast United States. It is prevalent across all regions of [[British Columbia]] and [[Alberta]].<ref name="ubc" /><ref name="alberta" />

== Ecology ==
It is a [[fire-tolerant]] species and may be a [[Soil seed bank|seedbanking]] species.<ref name="ubc" />

''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' is an [[alternate host]] for [[spruce broom rust]].<ref name="USDA">{{cite book |last1=Patterson |first1=Patricia A. |title=Field Guide to the Forest Plants of Northern Idaho |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_int/int_gtr180.pdf |date=1985 |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service |pages=37–47}}</ref>

Bears and other animals eat the berries.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reiner |first=Ralph E. |title=Introducing the Flowering Beauty of Glacier National Park and the Majestic High Rockies |publisher=Glacier Park, Inc. |year=1969 |pages=114}}</ref>

==Conservation==
The plant is rare or [[endangered]] in several states of the [[Midwestern United States]].<ref name="usda" />

==Toxicity==
One review indicated that ingestion of large doses can cause [[allergic reaction]]s, with nausea and [[seizure]]s, as a potential emergency condition.<ref name="drugs">{{cite web |date=19 July 2017 |title=Uva ursi |url=https://www.drugs.com/npc/uva-ursi.html |access-date=27 August 2019 |publisher=Drugs.com}}</ref> Preliminary studies indicate that arbutin may be toxic when ingested in high doses.<ref name="pubchem">{{cite web |date=16 November 2019 |title=Arbutin, CID 440936 |url=https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/440936 |access-date=19 November 2019 |publisher=PubChem, National Library of Medicine, US National Institutes of Health}}</ref> Uva ursi may cause [[adverse effect]]s in people with [[liver disease|liver]] or [[kidney disease]], or pregnant and [[breastfeeding]] women.<ref name="drugs" />

The leaves contain arbutin,<ref name="drugs" /><ref name="pubchem" /> which [[metabolizes]] to form hydroquinone, a potential [[hepatotoxic|liver toxin]].<ref name="pubchem" /><ref name="ijt">{{cite journal |last1=De Arriba |first1=S. G |last2=Naser |first2=B |last3=Nolte |first3=K. U |year=2013 |title=Risk assessment of free hydroquinone derived from ''Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi'' folium herbal preparations |journal=International Journal of Toxicology |volume=32 |issue=6 |pages=442–53 |doi=10.1177/1091581813507721 |pmid=24296864 |s2cid=24225098}}</ref>

==Uses==
Bearberry fruits and leaves are used by members of the [[Blackfeet Nation]] as food.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians|last=Hellson|first=John C.|publisher=National Museums of Canada|year=1974|location=Ottawa|pages=101}}</ref> While edible raw the fruits are fairly bland that way,<ref name=mbg/><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/277203364 |title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants |publisher=[[Skyhorse Publishing]] |others=[[United States Department of the Army]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-60239-692-0 |location=New York |pages=28 |language=en-US |oclc=277203364}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Benoliel |first=Doug |url=https://archive.org/details/northwestforagin0000beno/page/107/ |title=Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest |publisher=Skipstone |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-59485-366-1 |edition=Rev. and updated |location=Seattle, WA |pages=107 |oclc=668195076}}</ref> but can be used to make [[jelly (fruit preserves)|jelly]].<ref name="USDA" /> The berries were used as seasoning and cooked with meat.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Prance |editor1-first=Ghillean |editor2-last=Nesbitt |editor2-first=Mark |last1=Sanderson |first1=Helen |last2=Renfrew |first2=Jane M. |date=2005 |title=The Cultural History of Plants |publisher=Routledge |page=99 |isbn=0415927463}}</ref> The young leaves can be made into tea.<ref name=":0" />
Teas and [[extract]]s of the leaves have been used in [[traditional medicine]] of [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] people over centuries as [[urinary tract]] [[antiseptic]]s, [[diuretic]]s, and [[laxative]]s.<ref name="drugs" /> In [[herbalism]], leaf tea is used to treat urinary tract [[inflammation]].<ref name="drugs" /> Though thought to be an [[astringent]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Niering |first1=William A. |author-link=William Niering| last2=Olmstead |first2=Nancy C. |title=The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region |year=1985 |orig-year=1979|publisher=Knopf |isbn=0-394-50432-1 |page=497}}</ref> or cure for [[sexually transmitted diseases]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Whitney |first=Stephen |title=Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides) |date=1985 |publisher=Knopf |location=New York |isbn=0-394-73127-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/westernforests00whit/page/418 418] |url=https://archive.org/details/westernforests00whit/page/418 }}</ref>{{cn|date=November 2019}} as of 2017, there was no [[evidence-based medicine|high-quality evidence]] from [[clinical research]] that such treatments are effective or safe.<ref name="drugs" />

Dried bearberry leaves are the main component in many traditional North American Native smoking mixes,<ref name="alberta" /><ref>{{Cite book |author=Moerman, Daniel E. |title=Native American ethnobotany |date=15 August 1998 |isbn=0-88192-453-9 |pages=87–88 |chapter=''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi''}}</ref> known collectively as "[[kinnikinnick]]" ([[Algonquin language|Algonquin]] for "smoking mixture") used especially among western [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]], often including other herbs and sometimes tobacco.<ref name="alberta" /><ref name="mbg" /><ref name="drugs" />

Native Americans also used the plant to make yellow dye.<ref name="USDA" />

There are several [[cultivar]]s that are propagated for use as [[ornamental plant]]s.<ref name=alberta/> It is an attractive year-round [[evergreen]] [[groundcover]] for [[garden]]s, and is useful for controlling [[erosion]] on hillsides and slopes due to its deep roots.<ref name=mbg/> It is tolerant of sun and dry soils, and is thus common groundcover in urban areas, in naturalized areas, and in native plant or [[rock garden]]s.<ref name=ubc/><ref name=mbg/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160307153327/http://medplant.nmsu.edu/ursi.shtm Medicinal Plants: ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'']

{{Arbutoideae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q208032}}

[[Category:Arctostaphylos|uva-ursi]]
[[Category:Berries]]
[[Category:Flora of Europe]]
[[Category:Flora of Asia]]
[[Category:Flora of North America]]
[[Category:Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands]]
[[Category:Native American culture]]
[[Category:Smoking in the United States]]
[[Category:Garden plants of Asia]]
[[Category:Garden plants of Europe]]
[[Category:Garden plants of North America]]
[[Category:Groundcovers]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
[[Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine]]