Wildflowers Monday – the Partridge berry

Mitchella repens – Partridge berry, twinberry, squaw vine

This is also in praise of little plants because Partridge berry is a ‘ground hugger’, forming an excellent, evergreen carpet of small, rounded, shiny leaves with a whitish main vein. I can imagine it flowing over a big shaded boulder, mossy woodland humps or over a stony wall. But, sadly I have never seen it cultivated – little plants have sometimes difficulties to getting noticed…

Mitchella repens – Partridge berry, Squaw vine, in habitat

Well-known and used traditionally by the Indigenous People as a women’s herb (as an aid in menstrual complaints and childbirth, hence the name squaw vine), it was tested and still recommended by the modern herbal medicine. The ‘berries’ were also used occasionally as food.

Mitchella repens flowers – pink buds opening to white, tubular, fragrant flowers with fuzzy petals (you have to lay down to notice this); they are followed by large scarlet ‘berries’ (actually drupes) which are consumed by a variety of birds and mammals in late fall.

Note: The name Mitchella was chosen by C. Linnaeus to honor his friend John Mitchell. A physician, keen naturalist and cartographer; he set up practice in America and over the years provided Linnaeus with information about many North American species, partridge berry included.

Thanks to someone’s comment regarding Mitchella cultivation, I realized I should mention that it is often found growing close to Gaultheria procumbens or on top of moss mounds, which indicates its inclination for a slightly acidic substrate, besides moist locations. Give it a try! – not necessarily from seeds; the stems are easily rooting at the nodes and a small portion can be used same as a cutting (already rooted ;).

Mitchella and companions (Gaultheria in the left-top corner)