| Gaultheria shallon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leaves and flowers | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Gaultheria |
| Species: | G. shallon |
| Binomial name | |
| Gaultheria shallon | |
 | |
| Distribution in the United States | |
Gaultheria shallon is anevergreenshrub in the heatherfamily (Ericaceae), native to western North America. In English, it is known assalal,shallon, or (mainly in Britain)gaultheria.
Gaultheria shallon is 0.4 to 3.05 metres (1+1⁄2 to 10 feet) tall, sprawling to erect. It is loosely to densely branched and often forms dense, nearly impenetrable thickets.[2] Thetwigs are reddish-brown, with shredding bark. Twigs can live up to 16 years or more, but bearleaves only the first few years.[2]
The leaves are alternate,evergreen, leathery, thick and egg shaped. They are shiny and dark green on the upper surface, and rough and lighter green on the lower. Each finely and sharplyserrate leaf is 5 to 10 centimetres (2 to 4 inches) long. Each leaf generally lives for 2 to 4 years before it is replaced.[2]
Theinflorescence of flowers consists of abracteateraceme, one-sided, with 5–15 flowers at the ends of branches. Each flower is composed of a deeply five-parted, glandular-hairedcalyx and an urn-shaped pink to white, glandular to hairy, five-lobedpetals (corolla),7 to 10 millimetres (1⁄4 to3⁄8 in) long.
Thefruit is reddish to blue, rough-surfaced, covered in tiny hairs, nearly spherical and 6 to 10 mm in diameter.[3] The fruits are 'pseudoberries', or capsules made up of a fleshy outer calyx, and each fruit contains an average of 126 brown, reticulateseeds approximately 0.1 mm in length. These berries are also edible.
Lewis and Clark reported the localChinook Jargon name of the omnipresent evergreen shrub to beshallon,shelwel, orshellwell,[4] but when Scottish naturalistDavid Douglas arrived atFort George in April 1825 he noted that it was not calledshallon but rathersalal or sallal.[5][6]
The genusGaultheria was named byPehr Kalm for his guide in Canada, fellow botanistJean François Gaultier.[7]
In theSquamish language, the fruits are calledt’áḵa7 and the bush is calledt’áḵa7áy̓.[8] In theSaanich dialect, salal berries are calledDAḴE[9] In the Lushootseed language, the month of August is named pədt̕aqaʔ, literally 'time of the salal.'[10]
Salal is found in SoutheastAlaska,British Columbia,Washington andOregon and along much of theCalifornia coast. It grows as far north asBaranof Island,Alaska.[3]Western poison oak is a common associate in theCalifornia Coast Ranges.[11]
The species was introduced to Britain in 1828 by David Douglas, who intended the plant to be used as anornamental.[3] It is believed to have been planted as cover forpheasants on shooting estates.[12]
G. shallon grows in moist to dry, montane to lowland coastal conifer forests as well as forested peatland andswamps throughout the Pacific Northwest down to Southern California. It is a common coniferous forest understory species where shade is not heavy and may dominate large areas with its spreadingrhizomes. Individual plants may live for hundreds of years, spreading from their rhizomes. The plant is sensitive to frost.[2]
It is tolerant of salt spray and grows well onstabilized dunes, exposed slopes, and bluffs near the ocean, as well as in coastal brushfields and coastalshore pine andSitka spruce forests. Salal tolerates moderate shade and does well in sun.[2]
It grows in a variety of soils but prefers moist sandy or peaty soils, and commonly establishes ondecaying wood and stumps or as anepiphyte in extremely humid areas.[2]
Conifer regeneration is typically better on sites dominated by salal than on sites dominated by thewestern swordfern orvine maple, although it still competes with conifer seedlings for water, nutrients, and space. There are mixed reports on its impact onDouglas-fir regrowth; on some sites it may hinder it, but on others it may add nutrients to the soil and actually increase conifer regeneration.[2]
The leaves arebrowsed bydeer andelk, and it is an important winter food for those species. Browsing is heaviest when other low-growing species become covered in snow; in Western Washington salal leaves composed 30.4% of deer diet by volume in January, compared to only 0.5% in June.[13] The leaves have relatively low nutritional value, and deer which feed exclusively on them have shown signs ofmalnutrition, cementing their status as a winter and emergency food forungulates.Beavers and thewhite-footed vole are known to feed on salal leaves, as are domesticgoats andsheep in some areas.[2]
Theband-tailed pigeon,wrentit, various species ofgrouse, and numerous songbirds consume the fruit, as do mammals such as thered squirrel,black bear, black-tailed deer,Townsend's chipmunk, and theDouglas squirrel.[2]
Salal flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds, bees, and flies, and are browsed by deer.[2]
It provides important cover and hiding places for a variety of species, from large ungulates to small birds and mammals.[2]
Salal is adapted to afire regime of infrequent fires, from intervals of 50 to 500+ years. Although aboveground portions of the plant may be consumed, rhizomes in the soil will survive and resprout after light to moderate fires. Severe fires on dry, shallow soil will penetrate into the roots and kill the plant.[2]
It readily colonizesheathland and acidic woodland habitats in southern England, often forming very tall and dense evergreen stands which smother other vegetation. Although heathland managers widely regard it as a problem weed on unmanaged heathland, it is readily browsed by cattle (especially in winter), so where traditional grazing management has been restored, the dense stands become broken up and the plant becomes a more scattered component of the heathland vegetation.
As aninvasive species, salal is resistant to manyherbicides because of its waxy foliage, althoughGarlon andSilvex can be effective when properly applied. Attempts at mechanical removal may break up rhizomes and stimulate new growth, thus increasing salal cover.[2]
The dark blue berries and young leaves are edible and efficientappetite suppressants,[14] both with a unique flavor.[3] The berries were a significant food resource for some Native American tribes, who ate them fresh and dried[15] them into cakes. They were also used as asweetener, and theHaida used them to thicken salmon eggs. The leaves of the plant were also sometimes used to flavor fish soup.[3]
More recently, the berries are used locally in jams, preserves, and pies.[3][16] They are often combined withOregon-grape because salal's mild sweetness partially masks the former's tartness.
Salal is widely cultivated as an ornamental both within and outside of its native range, useful for ground cover and landscaping.[2]
In the Pacific Northwest, the harvesting ofG. shallon is the heart of a large industry which supplies cut evergreens worldwide for use infloral arrangements. It is used innative plant gardens and sold as "Lemon Leaf".
The species has been used for its medicinal properties by local natives for generations, although its medicinal uses are not widely known. The leaves have anastringent effect, making it an effectiveanti-inflammatory and anti-cramping herb. Leaves prepared in a tea or tincture are thought to decrease internal inflammation (such as bladder inflammation), stomach or duodenal ulcers,heartburn, indigestion, sinus inflammation, diarrhea, moderate fever, inflamed/irritated throat, and menstrual cramps. Apoultice of the leaf can be used externally to ease discomfort from insect bites and stings.[17]
