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{{taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Bearberry
| image = Arctostaphylos-uva-ursi.JPG
| image_width = 260px
| image_caption = ''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Ericales]]
| familia = [[Ericaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Arctostaphylos]]''
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''Arctostaphylos alpina'' - [[Alpine Bearberry]]<br/>
''Arctostaphylos rubra'' - Red Bearberry<br/>
''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'' - Common Bearberry
}}

'''Bearberries''' are three species of dwarf [[shrub]]s in the genus ''[[Arctostaphylos]]''. Unlike the other species of ''Arctostaphylos'' (see [[Manzanita]]), they are adapted to [[arctic]] and sub-arctic climates, and have a [[circumpolar]] distribution in northern [[North America]], [[Asia]] and [[Europe]], one with a small highly disjunct population in [[Central America]].

:''The unrelated medicinal tree [[Cascara|Cascara or ''chitticum'']] also has "Bearberry" as one of its common names. Also the "American [[Cranberry]]" (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is sometimes mistermed as "Bearberry".''

==Species==
The name bearberry derives from the edible fruit, said to be greatly enjoyed by [[bear]]s. The fruit, also called bearberries, are edible and sometimes gathered for food. The leaves of the plant are used in [[herbal medicine]].
*'''[[Alpine Bearberry]]''' - ''A. alpina'' (L.) Spreng (syn. ''Arctous alpinus'' (L.) Niedenzu). A procumbent shrub 10-30 cm high. Leaves not winter green, but dead leaves persist on stems for several years. Berries dark purple to black. Distribution: circumpolar, at high latitudes, from [[Scotland]] east across [[Scandinavia]], [[Russia]], [[Alaska]], [[Canada]] and [[Greenland]]; southern limits in Europe in the [[Pyrenees]] and the [[Alps]], in Asia to the [[Altay Mountains]], and in North America to [[British Columbia]] in the west, and [[Maine]] and [[New Hampshire]] in the [[United States]] in the east.
*'''Red Bearberry''' - ''A. rubra'' (Rehd. & Wilson) Fernald (syn. ''Arctous rubra'' (Rehder and E.H. Wilson) Nakai; ''Arctous alpinus'' var. ''ruber'' Rehd. and Wilson). A procumbent shrub 10-30 cm high. Leaves [[deciduous]], falling in autumn to leave bare stems. Berries red. Distribution: in the mountains of [[Sichuan]], southwestern [[China]] north and east to eastern [[Siberia]], [[Alaska]] and northern [[Canada]] east to northern [[Quebec]].
*'''[[Arctostaphylos uva-ursi|Common Bearberry]]''' - ''A. uva-ursi'' (L.) Spreng.

Other recorded old English common names include Arberry, Bear's Grape, Crowberry, Foxberry, Hog Cranberry, Kinnikinnick, Mealberry, Mountain Box, Mountain Cranberry, Mountain Tobacco, Red Bearberry, Sandberry, Upland Cranberry, Uva-ursi.

===Medicinal Uses===
[[Image:Alpine bearberry in Varrio Nature Reserve, Finland.jpg|left|thumb|''Arctostaphylos alpina'']]
The plant contains [[arbutin]], [[methylarbutin]], a bitter [[Principle (chemistry)|principle]], [[ursolic acid]], [[tannic acid]], [[gallic acid]], some [[essential oil]] and [[resin]], [[hydroquinone]]s (mainly arbutin, up to 17%), [[tannin]]s (up to 15%), [[Glycoside#Simple phenolic glycosides|phenolic glycoside]]s and [[flavonoid]]s.

The leaves are picked any time during the summer and dried for use in infusions, liquid extracts, medicinal tea bags and tablets. The plant has the following claimed properties: anti-[[calculus (medicine)|lithic]], [[Aroma compound|aromatic]], [[astringent]], [[disinfectant]], [[diuretic]], [[lithontripic]], [[sedative]] (renal), [[stimulant]] (mild), [[tonic]], urinary [[antiseptic]]. It has been used to treat [[arthritis]], back pain (lower), bed wetting, [[bile]] problems, [[Urinary bladder|bladder]] infections, [[bloating]], [[bright's disease]], [[bronchitis]], [[cararrh]] of the bladder, [[cystitis]], [[diabetes]] (by removing excessive sugar from the blood), [[diarrhea]], [[fevers]], fluid retention, [[gallstones]], [[gonorrhea]], [[headache]] (smoked), [[haemorrhoids]], [[indigestion]], [[kidney stones]], kidney infections, liver problems, lung congestion, excessive menstration, [[nephritis]], [[obesity]], [[pancreatis]], prostate gland weakness, [[rheumatism]], chronic [[urethritis]], vaginal discharge, vaginal diseases, and water retention {{Fact|date=February 2007}}.

[[Image:bearberry.jpg|thumb|''Arctostaphylos uva-ursi'']]
It is claimed to strengthen the heart muscle and urinary tract, return the womb to its normal size after childbirth, and prevents uteral infection. It is also claimed to be a powerful tonic for the sphincter muscle of the bladder so it helps with bladder control problems. It has a strong bacteriostatic action against [[Staphylococci]] and ''[[E. coli]]''. The leaves have strong astringent properties.

Bearberry is relatively safe, though large doses may cause nausea, green urine, bluish-grey skin, vomiting, fever, chills, severe back pain, ringing in the ears (some people can withstand up to 20g and others show signs of poisoning after just 1g); take no more than 7-10 days at a time.

It should not be used by people who are pregnant, breast feeding, nor in the treatment of children (under 12) and patients with kidney disease. Drug interactions have been recorded with [[diuretic]]s, as well as drugs that make the urine acidic (such as ascorbic acid and Urex).

===History and Folklore===
[[Image:Illustration Arctostaphylos uva-ursi0.jpg|thumb|right|Common Bearberry from ''Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz'' 1885]]
Bearberry was first documented in ''The Physicians of Myddfai'', a 13th century [[Wales|Welsh]] [[herbal]], it was also described by [[Clusius]] in 1601, and recommended for medicinal use in 1763 by [[Gerhard]] and others. Often called uva-ursi, from the Latin uva, "grape, berry of the vine", ursi, "bear", i.e. "bear's grape". It first appeared in the London Pharmacopoeia in 1788, though it probably was in use long before.

In Strathnairn, Scotland there is a hill, known in English as Brin Mains, but which is known in Scottish Gaelic as "Cnoc nan Cnàimhseag" which means "The hill of the Bearberries".

[[Marco Polo]] reported in 13th century that the Chinese were using it as a diuretic, to treat kidney and urinary problems. Bearberry leaves are used still used medicinally in Poland and other countries.

[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] used it with [[tobacco]] and other herbs in religious ceremonies; used as a smudge (type of incense) or smoked in a sacred pipe, it carried the smoker's prayers to the Great Spirit. When mixed with tobacco, it was referred to as Kinnikinnick, from the [[Algonquian]] for "mixture". Native Americans also used Bearberry tea to treat inflammation of the urinary tract, urethritis, kidney stones, and cystitis. The [[Cheyenne]] used the tea to treat back sprains. Some Native American tribes powdered the leaves and applied them to sores. Other tribes drank it to treat venereal diseases. The berries were also made into a tea that was used to ward off obesity. Early European settlers in the Americas used the leaves taken internally as an astringent to treat nephritis, kidney stones and other diseases of the urinary system.

==References==
*{{cite web | last = | first = | url = http://www.mountainnature.com/Plants/PlantsLatinNameResult.asp?ID=125| title = Mountain Nature | format = | work = http://www.mountainnature.com/ | publisher = Ward Cameron Enterprises | accessdate = | accessyear = }}

{{commons|Arctostaphylos uva-ursi}}

[[Category:Ericaceae]]
[[Category:Flora of Canada]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
[[Category:Flora of Oregon]]

Bearberry - Revision history

MediaWiki default at 15:02, 7 October 2007