Kinnikinnick 'Massachusetts' / Bearberry

Kinnikinnick uva ursi 'Massachusetts'

Ericaceae

• Cultivar of Spokane Native species
• Sun-Shade
• 6"-1’ tall x 3’-6' wide
• Drought Tolerant: High
• Evergreen: yes
• Flower Color: pink-tinged white (April - June) followed by bright red berries in the fall
• Wildlife Value: birds, butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and mammals

'Massachusetts' is a widely grown, cold-hardy cultivar of straight kinnikinnick, selected and developed at Oregon State University, and prized for its especially flat, tidy growth habit and reliable fruit production. It forms a dense, weed-suppressing evergreen mat and thrives in the poor, sandy, well-drained, acidic-to-neutral soils typical of Spokane's dry sites, with excellent cold hardiness well suited to eastern Washington winters.

Small, glossy, leathery evergreen leaves turn attractive shades of bronze to red in cold weather, forming a dense, low mat that hugs the ground closely and evenly. Clusters of small, pink-blushed white, urn-shaped flowers in spring give way to bright red berries that persist into winter, adding multi-season color.

Kinnikinnick berries are an important food source for bears (hence "bearberry") and numerous bird species, especially through the winter months when other food is scarce, and the spring flowers are a reliable early bee resource. Ethnobotanically, kinnikinnick is one of the most significant plants of the Pacific Northwest and Plains tribes: its dried leaves were, and still are, a traditional smoking-blend ingredient (the word "kinnikinnick" itself comes from an Algonquian term for a smoking mixture), often combined with tobacco or other herbs for ceremonial use, and the berries, though mealy, were eaten fresh or dried by many communities.

An excellent, reliably cold-hardy evergreen groundcover for slopes, rock gardens, parking strips, and other dry, sunny to partly shaded sites where weed suppression and low maintenance matter. Because it's a selected form rather than wild-collected stock, expect slightly more uniform growth and fruiting than straight species plants.