Bearberry

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

The bearberry is an antiseptic plant, which is used both as a medicine and a dye. Urinary troubles can be treated with bearberry tea, but the infusion should be drunk only for short periods at a time.

The bearberry grows like a mat, and its creeping stem can become one metre long. The whole bearberry mat has just one main root: the trailing stems do not form roots. The berries are mealy and tasteless. The evergreen leaves contain arbutin, which turns into hydroquinine, a poisonous substance, in the human body. Hydroquinine can be used as an antiseptic in urinary tract infections. Bearberries thrive on dry forest soil and banks, as well as in highland heaths.