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| ## bearberry {#bearberry .Title-Header}                               |
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| *Arctostaphylos uva-ursi* (L.) Spreng                                 |
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| Plant Symbol = ARUV                                                   |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program

##### Alternate Names![](media/image2.wmf){width="2.915277777777778in" height="1.948611111111111in"}

kinnikinnick

##### Uses {#uses .Header-3}

Bearberry serves a dual role on sandy soils, as both a beautification
plant as well as a critical area stabilizer. The thick, prostrate,
vegetative mat and evergreen character are what make bearberry a very
popular ground cover. It is often planted around home sites, sand dunes,
sandy banks, and commercial sites. The fruit it produces is eaten by a
few species of songbirds and game animals. Deer will sometimes browse
the foliage lightly.

##### Status {#status .Header-3}

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

##### Description {#description .Header-3}

Pure stands of bearberry can be extremely dense, with heights rarely
taller than 6 inches. 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. The small solitary three
scaled buds are dark brown.

The simple leaves of this broadleaf evergreen are alternately arranged
on branches. Each leaf is held by a twisted leaf stalk, vertically. The
leathery dark green leaves are an inch long and have rounded tips
tapering back to the base. In fall, the leaves begin changing from a
dark green to a reddish-green to purple.

Terminal clusters of small urn-shaped flowers bloom from May to June.
The perfect flowers are white to pink, and bear round, fleshy or mealy,
bright red to pink fruits called drupes. This smooth, glossy skinned
fruit will range from 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter. The fruit will
persist on the plant into early winter. Each drupe contains 1 to 5 hard
seeds, which need to be scarified and stratified prior to germination to
reduce the seed coat and break embryo dormancy. There is an average of
40,900 cleaned seeds per pound.

##### Adaptation and Distribution {#adaptation-and-distribution .Header-3}

Bearberry's native range is from Labrador to Alaska, south to Virginia,
Illinois, Nebraska, and in the mountains from New Mexico north through
California to Alaska. This long-lived, low growing shrub is very cold
tolerant. This plant prefers coarse well to excessively drained soils of
forests, sand dunes, bald or barren areas. It does not tolerate moist or
off-drained sites. Although bearberry is often found growing in the open
on sand dunes, it grows well under partial shade of forest canopies.

For a current distribution map, please consult the Plant Profile page
for this species on the PLANTS Website.

##### Establishment {#establishment .Header-3}

Bearberry can be propagated from seeds, softwood cuttings or pre-rooted
stem cuttings. It is difficult to root this plant from bare cuttings in
the greenhouse. Scarified seed sown in early summer will improve
germination the following spring, but this technique is not as reliable
as cuttings. Softwood cuttings should be harvested in late summer, and
rooted stem cuttings are most successful when harvested during the
dormant season. Successfully grown seedlings or cuttings should be
handled carefully in containers; bare root plantings are rarely
effective.

##### Management {#management .Header-3}

This shrub species requires very little maintenance once it has been
established. Annual spring applications of 10-10-10 will increase the
growth rate of bearberry, but will also increase weed growth. Weed
growth must be controlled to sustain healthy stands of bearberry.

##### Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin) {#cultivars-improved-and-selected-materials-and-area-of-origin .Header-3}

There are no known varieties of bearberry available; local or regional
selections are available from commercial nurseries.

##### Prepared By & Species Coordinator:  {#prepared-by-species-coordinator .Header-3}

USDA NRCS Northeast Plant Materials Program

##### 

##### Edited: 31Jan2002 JLK; 31may06jsp {#edited-31jan2002-jlk-31may06jsp .Header-4}

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
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large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
TDD).*

*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.*

*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
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