Gaultheria is a genus of about 170 species of shrubs in the family Ericaceae. They are native to Asia, North and South America, and Australasia. In the past, the Southern Hemisphere species were often treated in a separate genus Pernettya; however, there is no consistent reliable morphological or genetic difference to support recognition of two genera, and they are now united in the single genus Gaultheria. The word bush re-directs here; for alternate uses see Bush (disambiguation). ... Genera See text The plant Family Ericaceae (Heath Family) or ericaceous plants are mostly lime-hating or calcifuge plants that thrive in acid soils. ... World map showing location of Asia A satellite composite image of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Australasia is the area that includes Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the many smaller islands in the vicinity, most of which are the eastern part of Indonesia. ...

The species vary from low, ground-hugging shrubs less than 10 cm tall, up to 2.5 m tall, or, in the case of G. fragrantissima from the Himalaya, even a small tree up to 5-6 m tall. The leaves are evergreen, alternate (opposite in G. oppositifolia from New Zealand), simple, and vary between species from 0.3-10 cm long; the margins are finely serrated or bristly in most species, but entire in some. The flowers are solitary or in racemes, bell-shaped, with a five-lobed corolla; flower colour ranges from white to pink to red. The fruit is a fleshy berry in many species, a dry capsule in some, with numerous small seeds. The Himalaya is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... This article is about plant types. ... Wildflowers A flower is the reproductive organ of those plants classified as angiosperms (flowering plants; Division Magnoliophyta). ... Fruit stall in Barcelona, Spain. ... This article is about the fruit. ... A SeeD is a term given to mercenaries trained and employed by Balamb Garden in the Final Fantasy VIII video game. ...

Uses

Several species are grown as ornamental shrubs in gardens, particularly G. mucronata from southern Chile and G. shallon (Salal) from the Pacific Northwest of North America. The fruit of many species is edible, though insipid in flavour so not extensively eaten. Binomial name Gaultheria shallon Pursh Salal (Gaultheria shallon, Ericaceae) is a leathery-leaved shrub native to western North America. ... Darker red states are always part of the Pacific Northwest. ...