Wintergreen, commonly referred to as teaberry, grows throughout the Upper Delaware Region. This specimen was growing in Pike County forest land.
Wintergreen wonderland
The brilliant red berry of the wintergreen plant appears in woodlands just in time for the holiday season, brightening the forest floor and delighting our sense of smell with its uplifting and unique fragrance.
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), also called teaberry or checkerberry, is a creeping perennial with shiny evergreen leaves. Its fruit is a bright red, mealy berry that is best harvested during fall and winter.
“A gap has occurred in the line. Who will come forward to fill it?”
— Charles Edward Stuart, Battle of Culloden Moor, 1746
One of my long-time fishing buddies is dying. Malignant cancer cells are slowly ravaging his body. The time for hope is past. It is inevitable that the cancerous cells will take him from us. They cannot, however, take the memory of innumerable pleasant hours spent in his company.
