Bearberry

Bearberry is the name for three species of  small woody plants in the heath family, Ericaceae. They grow well in cold places. Each species has subspecies. They can grow well in poor soil (for example soil that is mostly sand). 

They have edible fruit. Their leaves are sometimes used for folk medicine.Beryl Hallworth (2015). "Bearberry". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2020-03-19. <ref name=":0">Schofield, Janice J.  1989. Discovering wild plants: Alaska, western Canada, the Northwest p. 217. ISBN 978-0-88240-355-7</ref> The common name comes from the fact that bears often eat them.

 Species 
The three species are:

 Alpine bearberry, Arctostaphylos alpina: Grows in the Alps, and is 10-30cm high.
 Red bearberry, Arctostaphylos  rubra: Grows in the mountains in Sichuan province, China, Siberia, Alaska, and northern Canada.  Leaves fall offf in autumn. Also 10-30cm high. Fruit are red.
 Common bearberry''', Arctostaphylos uva-ursi:'' Common in the northern Hemisphere. This is what most people refer to as 'bearberry'.

 References 

Category:Ericaceae