Bearberry | Native Plant Feature 08

 

Bearberry by Laura Watson

Common Name: Bearberry
Scientific Name: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (pronounced Ark-toh-STAF-ih-los OO-vah-UR-see)
Family: Ericaceae (Heath family)
Habitat: Dry, open slopes, rocky outcrops, coastal bluffs, and pine forests
Bloom Time: Spring
Range: Widespread across Canada and the northern United States

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A Groundcover of Strength and Beauty

Bearberry is one of those quiet plants that often goes unnoticed — a resilient, low-growing evergreen that carpets rocky slopes and dry hillsides across the Pacific Northwest. It thrives where little else will, spreading in glossy green mats that hold the soil together and provide shelter for mosses, lichens, and insects.

Here on Vancouver Island, I often find Bearberry growing behind my home in Harewood Plains, weaving through the sun-baked rocks and thin soil alongside native stonecrops and kinnikinnick moss. It’s a place where spring wildflowers appear in vibrant bursts — and Bearberry, with its year-round green leaves, quietly anchors the landscape through every season.

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Botanical Details

Bearberry belongs to the heath family, which includes other acid-loving species such as salal, blueberries, and rhododendrons. Its leaves are small, leathery, and evergreen — tough enough to withstand dry summers and cold winters.

In spring, Bearberry produces clusters of tiny, urn-shaped pink-white flowers that hang like bells. They are pollinated by native bees and bumblebees, who are attracted to the early nectar supply. By late summer, the flowers mature into bright red berries, each about the size of a small pea. These glossy fruits persist through the fall and winter, feeding birds, bears, and small mammals when other food sources are scarce.

The name uva-ursi literally translates to “bear’s grape,” reflecting the plant’s popularity among bears who feast on the berries in autumn.

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Traditional and Ecological Importance

Beyond its beauty, Bearberry has long held significance for Indigenous peoples across North America. The leaves were traditionally dried and used as a medicinal tea for urinary and kidney ailments, and were also an important ingredient in kinnikinnick, a traditional herbal smoking blend. The berries were sometimes eaten raw or mixed into pemmican for flavor and nutrition.

Ecologically, Bearberry plays an essential role in soil stabilization. Its long, woody stems spread horizontally, creating a living mat that protects thin, sandy soils from erosion. It’s often used in native plant restoration projects for this very reason — a perfect example of how resilience and beauty can coexist in nature.

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In the Studio: Painting Bearberry

In this watercolor and ink class, we’ll celebrate the strength and subtlety of Bearberry through a botanical style study. You’ll learn to capture the glossy sheen of its leaves, the delicate transitions in the pink-white flowers, and the vibrant red berries that define the plant.

We’ll work step-by-step — layering transparent watercolor washes, adding fine ink details, and using warm and cool color contrasts to bring life and texture to the page. This class is perfect for building your skills in observation, layering, and color mixing, and for connecting more deeply to our native flora.

🖌️ Start the Bearberry class here →
(Included in The Watercolor Garden Lifetime Membership)

You can access the free reference materials guide here

Check out the YouTube video feature on Bearberry here.

Final Thoughts

Bearberry is a wonderful reminder that even the smallest, most overlooked plants can hold entire ecosystems together. Its deep roots, glossy leaves, and bright berries tell a story of endurance and quiet beauty — thriving in harsh places, just as so many of our native species do.

If you ever wander through a dry, rocky slope in late spring and see those tiny bell flowers or red berries glinting in the sun, take a moment to pause. You might be standing beside one of the Pacific Northwest’s most steadfast plants — Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, the Bearberry.

Happy painting,

Laura 

Laura Watson
Botanical Artist & Instructor
Founder of The Watercolour Garden
www.thewatercolourgarden.com

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All illustrations in this article are my original watercolour paintings.