Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (bearberry)

A member of the heath family. This low, woody, creeping evergreen plant resides in the Indiana Dunes as a glacial relic. It can be found in many different habitats in the dunes, but has a close association with jack pine which typically is found in the foredunes.

Botanist Michael Huft informs me that the word arctostaphylos means bear-berry in Greek, and that uva-ursi means bear-berry in Latin. It was known as kinnikinnik by Native Americans of the Algonquian Nation, probably Delaware, referring to a mixture of leaves, bark, and other plant materials to form a smoking product.