Arctostaphylos.

Arctostaphylos alpina Spreng. Ericaceae. Alpine Bearberry.

Arctic regions and mountain summits farther south. The berries are eaten in Lapland but are a mawkish food, according to Linnaeus. Richardson says there are two varieties, that both are eaten in the autumn and, though not equal to some of the other native fruits, are not unpleasant. They are called amprick by the Russians at the mouth of the Obi.

Arctostaphylos glauca Lindl. Manzanita.

California. The fruit grows in clusters, is first white, then red and finally black. This berry is regarded as eatable but is dry and of little flavor.

Arctostaphylos tomentosa Lindl. Manzanita

Southern California. The red berries are used by the Spanish inhabitants of Texas to make a cooling, subacid drink. The fruit is used when not quite ripe as a tart apple. Dried and made into bread and baked in the sun, the fruit is relished by the Indians.

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Spreng. Bearberry. Bear's Grape. Brawlins. Creashak. Mountain Box.

North America and Arctic regions. The Chinook Indians mix its dried leaves with tobacco. It is used for the same purpose by the Crees who call it tchakoshe-pukk; by the Chippewaians, who name it kleh; and by the Eskimos north of Churchill, by whom it is termed at-tung-a-wi-at. It is the iss-salth of the Chinooks. Its dry, farinaceous berry is utterly inedible.

Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.