Post by Sam on Oct 14, 2017 5:20:31 GMT -5
If you are fortunate enough, as I was yesterday, while traipsing through the woods, to find Teaberry or 'Mountain Tea' as I've always known it, you're in for a real treat, especially if there are berries present!
Teaberry is a small, unassuming perennial shrub that is native to the upper eastern parts of North America, like Quebec, New England and West Virginia.
For centuries, before it was used to make chewing gum, it was very popular as tea among our ancestors, hence the name teaberry, or mountain tea, but many of us, me included, have long forgotten its origins.
The evergreen teaberry leaves, which have an earthy, wintergreen flavor with a slightly bitter aftertaste, can be harvested for tea any time of the year.
Long before Gaultier “discovered” teaberry tea and its effectiveness as a medicine, Native Americans had been collecting and drying the leaves for a medicinal tea.
The active ingredient teaberry oil, called “wintergreen oil,” made from the leaves, is methyl salicylate, which is a compound similar to aspirin.
In fact the oil of wintergreen was used in some of the first commercially prepared aspirin tablets.
Due to this property, the teaberry, or wintergreen plant was used by Native Americans and the early settlers in much the same way as we do aspirin today.
Most often the chemical would be derived from making a tea, which was made by steeping the leaves in boiling water. The tea was drunk as a cure for headaches, to soothe sore muscles, and to relieve all sorts of aches and pains.
To make a stronger medicinal tea from teaberry leaves another method was used.
The crushed leaves were steeped in warm sterile water for a few days until they began to bubble – or ferment.
Then those leaves, either drained and dried, or wet, directly from the fermentation process, could be brewed to make medicine.
Teaberry plants like to grow in places like Pocahontas County – in mountainous areas, in partially shady and wet woodland areas where ferns, mushrooms and moss thrive.
It has small, rounded semi-shiny leaves and bears tiny bell-shaped white flowers that mature into red berries that sometimes have a pinkish hue.
The berries have a mealy texture with a light, yet fragrant scent and an understated berry flavor with a hint of a warm mint and spice undertone.
Teaberry plants grow like a ground cover by sending roots far and wide.
The plants have a spreading habit – one huge patch can actually be a single plant.
It usually grows less than six inches from the ground and has small, shiny, tiny-toothed evergreen leaves about an inch to two inches long.
When they are crushed, the leaves have a wintergreen odor.
Its small flowers come on in mid-to-late summer and develop into bright red berries which ripen in late summer or fall, and hide underneath the leaves.
The berries are very hearty – they can last throughout the year and still be found in April, when the snow recedes enough to allow one to find them safely tucked under the leaves.
While the Native Americans and the early European settlers ate teaberry leaves and berries as a trail nibble, modern foragers should use caution.
The leaves can irritate the stomach if too many are eaten at one time. And those with specific medical conditions should, of course, consult their doctor before consuming teaberry leaves or berries.
Besides making a tasty, minty tea, an effective pain reliever, and a delicious chewing gum, teaberry plants have also been used as flavoring for candies, cough drops and even wine.
Humans are not the only beneficiaries of the marvelous teaberry plant.
Squirrels, chipmunks, birds, mice, grouse, quail, wild turkeys, foxes, deer and bears also enjoy eating its berries. And the tough, evergreen leaves provide shelter for many small birds and animals.
Teaberry is a small, unassuming perennial shrub that is native to the upper eastern parts of North America, like Quebec, New England and West Virginia.
For centuries, before it was used to make chewing gum, it was very popular as tea among our ancestors, hence the name teaberry, or mountain tea, but many of us, me included, have long forgotten its origins.
The evergreen teaberry leaves, which have an earthy, wintergreen flavor with a slightly bitter aftertaste, can be harvested for tea any time of the year.
Long before Gaultier “discovered” teaberry tea and its effectiveness as a medicine, Native Americans had been collecting and drying the leaves for a medicinal tea.
The active ingredient teaberry oil, called “wintergreen oil,” made from the leaves, is methyl salicylate, which is a compound similar to aspirin.
In fact the oil of wintergreen was used in some of the first commercially prepared aspirin tablets.
Due to this property, the teaberry, or wintergreen plant was used by Native Americans and the early settlers in much the same way as we do aspirin today.
Most often the chemical would be derived from making a tea, which was made by steeping the leaves in boiling water. The tea was drunk as a cure for headaches, to soothe sore muscles, and to relieve all sorts of aches and pains.
To make a stronger medicinal tea from teaberry leaves another method was used.
The crushed leaves were steeped in warm sterile water for a few days until they began to bubble – or ferment.
Then those leaves, either drained and dried, or wet, directly from the fermentation process, could be brewed to make medicine.
Teaberry plants like to grow in places like Pocahontas County – in mountainous areas, in partially shady and wet woodland areas where ferns, mushrooms and moss thrive.
It has small, rounded semi-shiny leaves and bears tiny bell-shaped white flowers that mature into red berries that sometimes have a pinkish hue.
The berries have a mealy texture with a light, yet fragrant scent and an understated berry flavor with a hint of a warm mint and spice undertone.
Teaberry plants grow like a ground cover by sending roots far and wide.
The plants have a spreading habit – one huge patch can actually be a single plant.
It usually grows less than six inches from the ground and has small, shiny, tiny-toothed evergreen leaves about an inch to two inches long.
When they are crushed, the leaves have a wintergreen odor.
Its small flowers come on in mid-to-late summer and develop into bright red berries which ripen in late summer or fall, and hide underneath the leaves.
The berries are very hearty – they can last throughout the year and still be found in April, when the snow recedes enough to allow one to find them safely tucked under the leaves.
While the Native Americans and the early European settlers ate teaberry leaves and berries as a trail nibble, modern foragers should use caution.
The leaves can irritate the stomach if too many are eaten at one time. And those with specific medical conditions should, of course, consult their doctor before consuming teaberry leaves or berries.
Besides making a tasty, minty tea, an effective pain reliever, and a delicious chewing gum, teaberry plants have also been used as flavoring for candies, cough drops and even wine.
Humans are not the only beneficiaries of the marvelous teaberry plant.
Squirrels, chipmunks, birds, mice, grouse, quail, wild turkeys, foxes, deer and bears also enjoy eating its berries. And the tough, evergreen leaves provide shelter for many small birds and animals.