PEI’s gardens and farm fields may be winding down for the year, but there’s still lots of fresh wild food in the landscape. It’s the perfect time to collect many edible plants, including Wintergreen (aka Teaberry, Gaultheria procumbens).
Smell is intimately linked to memory, and the scent of Wintergreen is nostalgic for many of us. For me, it’s the Lifesaver candies that my grandparents had on hand in endless supply. For others, it’s the distinctive odour of Bengay liniment, or the more subtle notes of traditional root beer. I don’t know if Wintergreen is as evocative for more modern generations, but it does remain a popular flavouring added to candy, gum, breath mints, mouth wash, and toothpaste, among other products.
That unmistakeable smell is due to methyl salicylate, a relative of aspirin. Wintergreen has been used for thousands of years to treat joint pain, heart issues, colds, headaches, and other ailments, as well as eaten for its pleasant flavour. By the early 1800s, Oil of Wintergreen was being commercially produced in North America, and by 1842 chemists had identified the active ingredient.
Many plants produce methyl salicylate to greater or lesser degrees, and it likely plays a role in protection against pests and disease (more on this in a moment). Ironically, Sweet Birch (aka Cherry Birch, Betula lenta) has even higher concentrations of the chemical than does Wintergreen. Both plants were used in the original commercial production of Oil of Wintergreen, leading to overharvest of Sweet Birch in some areas. (Our native Yellow Birch [Betula alleghaniensis] also produces methyl salicylate and has that distinctive smell, but it wasn’t used commercially). By the late 1800s, chemists had developed a way to make Oil of Wintergreen in the lab, and today’s product is usually synthetic rather than natural.
Wintergreen is common in damp, mossy woodlands across the Island, as well as in and around bogs. Its shiny, thick leaves grow close to the ground and this trailing plant can’t be easily mistaken for anything else; if you’re unsure, crushing and smelling a leaf will remove all doubt! Delicate white flowers appear in summer and develop into distinctive red berries in fall. Berries and leaves are edible and persist under the snow all winter, hence the name Wintergreen.
Berries can be eaten raw and both berries and leaves can be used for tea. Fresh is best, but I do dry and store Wintergreen to enjoy in the depths of winter, using a good handful of crushed leaves per cup of boiling water, steeped about 15 minutes. That gives a nicely scented and mild tasting result, but you can intensify the flavour by filling a jar with leaves, pouring boiling water over them, capping the jar and letting it sit for four or five days, shaking it gently when you think of it. Strain and heat the liquid for tea or store it in the refrigerator to enjoy later.
One final – and important – point: plants don’t make their chemicals for our benefit. Methyl salicylate is a toxin, which is helpful if you’re a plant trying to protect yourself from predators but can be harmful to humans (poison control centres get tens of thousands of calls related to this chemical annually). While the amount present in berries or tea is below the harmful dose, Wintergreen should be enjoyed in moderation and avoided altogether by those allergic to aspirin. Oil of Wintergreen should be used with caution and kept out of children’s reach.
Wintergreen is one of my favourite aromatic parts of PEI untamed!
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