Ericaceae

Description

A creeping to erect evergreen shrub with hairy branching stems and dark leathery leaves which grows in the forest understory and along seashores.

At a glance

• Plant Type: Shrub.
• Distribution: This plant grows from Alaska to California. This plant grows on both sides of the Cascades crest and at the coast in Washington.
• Height: This plant grows up to 7 feet (2 m) in height.
• Flowers: Racemes containing 5 to 15 flowers are produced with glandular whitish-pink bracts. The races are 2 to 7 inches (5 to 17 cm) in length. The calyx is whitish to reddish in color and is deeply 5-lobed. The sepals are reddish, glandular, and less than 1/4 of an inch (3 to 5 mm) in length. The corolla contains 5 lobs and is urn-shaped, glandular, white to pinkish in color and approximately 3/8 of an inch (7 to 10 mm) in length.
• Leaves: The leaves are leathery and medium to dark green on the upper surface, with a pale green lower surface. They are ovate to ovate-elliptical, 2 to 4 inches (5 to 9 cm) in length, 1-1/4 to 2 inches (3 to 5 cm) in width and have a finely serrate margin. The leaves grow in an alternate arrangement.
• Fruits: Globe-shaped, berry-like capsules are produced which are surrounded by a persistent calyx. The capsule is fleshy, bluish black in color, and 1/4 of an inch to 1/2 of an inch (6 to 10 mm) in diameter. 
• Notable Features:  The leaves live 2-4 years and will generate at different times, so the plant always has leaves. Stems and twigs live for 16 years or more. Most of the plant’s biomass is underground, and in many cases, the roots live for hundreds of years. The twigs are reddish-brown in color and mature stems can have peeling bark. Salal is an important native plant used heavily in the landscape trade, it is easy to grow and adaptable to sunny or shady areas. It is a very important crop collected (or cultivated) for the floral industry to use as a foliage.

Restoration and Conservation

Salal leaves are an important food source for black-tail and mule deer. Mountain beavers, elk and the white-footed vole seasonally depend on the leaves. The berries are eaten by many birds and mammals - including bears and humans. Hummingbirds and other pollinators use the nectar in the flowers. Salal has evergreen leaves and a shrubby form providing year-round coverage and shelter for birds and small mammals. In between Salal plants, deer and elk can use the spaces as cover and shelter, making it a great place to hide and be protected from winds.

Ethnobotany

Pacific Northwest tribes (Klallam, Makah, Kwakiuti, Nitinaht and many others) have relied heavily on Salal, especially the fruits. The berries have been collected and eaten fresh, or dried and saved for winter months. Young leaves have been chewed by the Ditidaht to suppress hunger. The leaves were chewed and spit onto burns by the Klallam. Modern day use of the fruits includes making them into a jam or jelly. The branches were used to line pits and provided a seasoning to the fish or meat that was cooked. 

References

• FEIS/USDA: https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/gausha/all.html
• PFAF:  https://pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Gaultheria+shallon
• NAEB: http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Gaultheria+shallon
• Starflower Foundation Image Herbarium and Landscaping Pages, 2007.
• University of Washington-Bothell, The North Creek Wetland: https://www.uwb.edu/wetlands/plants/gaultheria-shallon 
• WTU Image Herbarium: http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Gaultheria%20shallon 
• Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center. Gaultheria shallon (Salal) | Native Plants of North America (wildflower.org)

Page Editors/Authors

• Sarah Verlinde
• Mayme O'Toole
• Gerald B. Stanley
• Diane Stutzman

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